Federal OK sought for tree clones

SUMMERVILLE—They don't like to call them clones. The quarter million eucalyptus trees that ArborGen wants to flower are a "variety," genetically engineered duplicates of a single Brazilian tree.

The Summerville-based forest research lab has asked the U.S. Agriculture Department to permit the flowering of trees planted at 28 sites in seven states including South Carolina, where field tests are under way in Charleston, Berkeley and two other counties. The company wants to grow the trees to full height, to see if they can be a commercially viable source of everything from nursery plants to bio-fuel and paper fiber.

The idea has raised the hackles of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Dogwood Alliance, who say letting these trees pollinate, much less allowing commercial planting, is irresponsible.

"The large-scale planting of these genetic engineered eucalyptus would spell disaster. Already millions of acres in the South have been converted to pine plantations. We cannot afford to lose any more precious native forests of the South — especially not to eucalyptus plantations, which could make kudzu look tame by comparison," said Danna Smith, Dogwood Alliance executive director.

Pat Layton, Clemson University forestry and natural resources department chairwoman, disagrees.

"I'm a forester, so the number of trees doesn't concern me. A quarter million trees is only 300 or so acres," she said. "I think there's a role for (genetically engineered eucalyptus) and a place for them."

Eucalyptus is the aromatic herb that is both a bush and a tree; some 700 natural species exist. Foresters consider the tree valuable because it grows quickly and is rich in oil. It can carry deadly fungi. Plantings can overrun other plants and the trees sop up a lot of groundwater. Environmental groups warn of plantations creating "green deserts" where no other plants or animals can live.

The variety that ArborGen is testing is from one of the fastest growing trees. It seems to be more tolerant of cold than other commercially grown eucalyptus, which is confined largely to Florida.

The company is an offshoot of research departments at Westvaco and other timber companies. The lab planted a stand of 279 genetically engineered loblolly pine trees in Charleston County in 1998, the first of that type for pines in the United States.

Agriculture by clone isn't the scary concept it seems at first blush. Genetic engineering has been part of agriculture for years, used in crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans.

"A lot of our products have benefited from technological enhancement," said Nolan Lemon, public affairs specialist for the eastern region in the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "When people read genetic modification or 'cloning,' they think we'll start seeing two-headed animals. That's not the focus of this technology. They want to breed in strengths and breed out weaknesses."

APHIS has ruled the testing safe. Public comment on the application closes Monday. For information, contact APHIS at: 1-301-734-7324.

The five South Carolina sites comprise a total of 7.7 acres. The field tests here so far have failed, said Les Pearson, ArborGen regulatory affairs director. The trees die back during the winter and probably won't live long enough to flower.

"We recognize people would have concerns" about genetically engineered plantings, Pearson said. The trees planted are duplicates of a tree that doesn't carry the deadly fungus; they have had a gene introduced that keeps them from pollinating; so they flower, but won't seed.

The idea, certainly, is to make more money from trees more capable of surviving and growing, he conceded. Yet, "I believe so strongly there's such benefits to this technology that's just waiting to be allowed." Pearson mentioned efforts to reintroduce an American chestnut strong enough to withstand the blight that wipes the species out, or an elm strong enough to withstand Dutch Elm disease.

"The stuff we're doing today allows that other stuff to happen. Without our commercial success (those researchers) are years and years away from making that happen."

Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744 or bpetersen@post andcourier.com.