INTROGRESSING BLIGHT RESISTANCE INTO THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT (Castanea dentata)

The American Chestnut Foundation Research Farm, 14005 Glenbrook Avenue, Meadowview, VA 24361 USA

The American Chestnut Foundation is conducting a breeding program to introduce chestnut blight resistance from the Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) into the American chestnut (C. dentata). We are now up to the third backcross to the American species, having selected for blight resistance in each generation. The plan is to release BC₃F₃ progeny back into the entire former range of the chestnut from Maine to Mississippi. We are cooperating with the USDA Forest Service at Saucier, MS, and Dr. Robert Bernatzky of the Univ. of Massachusetts to develop molecular markers to follow blight resistance loci and to monitor the genetic diversity of our trees for reintroduction. The poster will discuss our plan to isolate and study each individual resistance gene. Our breeding procedure is discussed in our web site http://www.acf.org.