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I want to believe that you are a serious organization, but your "annual reports" does nothing to increase the trust that public has on you.

I think that before even thinking on reviving any pleistocene animals, first, we need to collect and preserve any possible sub-fossil that could retain ancient dna and protect that at any cost, then, make a broad debate about the pleistocene extinction event and determine if were humans the main cause (by overkill or habitat transformation) or climate change (younger dryas event) the reasons of the extinction. But even before that debate, we must restore the extant habitats and the species that went extinct during historical times.

It is almost the end of 2024, where are the passenger pigeons?

I love this, i thought i would never see a Kawaii O'o ever, but i'm starting to think the other way.

bring back the meg

Thank you. It's the best way to go. Now what about Sudden Oak Death, Phytophthora ramorum. You can't ever retire. I live amid the redwoods in the Pacific Northwest and have 3 American Chestnuts from disease free stock brought to Oregon before the blight. One multi trunk tree lost 3 of its four trunks to disease, but the last one survived last year with no sign of disease. How many diseases are they susceptible to and will you be working on other diseases? Thanks again It is one of the most important trees in the world and certainly for the US.

Bad news was announced on Dec 15, 2023. The transgenic project originated with the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). They were supported by The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) which was, and still is, pursuing the backcross method for about thirty years with limited success. ESF had discovered that the Oxalate Oxide (OxO) gene from wheat breaks down the Oxalic acid that is in the blight fungus that caused the death of the American Chestnut. The ESF plan was to introduce that OxO gene into the Darling 58 American Chestnut gene sequence thus prompting the regulatory reviews. It was recently discovered that a mistake was made right at the beginning: years ago pollen from the Darling 54 tree was used instead of from the Darling 58 tree. Also the OxO gene became attached to the wrong gene in the American Chestnut gene sequence and the side effect seems to be lesions on some tree leaves. The biggest problem seems to be is when the OxO gene is activated. Near the genes are activators called promoters and the ESF project used a promoter from cauliflower. Think of these promoters as a light switch on the wall of a room and the OxO gene is the light bulb. The cauliflower promoter was telling the OxO gene to always be ON, and on full blast, not only as much as needed. In essence it was always fighting Oxalic acid infection even if it wasn't present. This infection fighting is like when you have a fever you are draining energy from your body, but if the infection is mild you might only have a minor cold and respond accordingly. Once the Oxalic acid was neutralized the OxO gene should turn off, but it wasn't doing so. The promoter should be like a motion sensor dimmer light switch that automatically turns on and off, not an always-on bright light switch. Because of the energy drain these transgenic American Chestnuts were growing much slower and shorter than natural trees, and producing fewer nuts. Also it appears that the tree senses the energy drain and somehow works to stop this offending gene to be passed to the next generation of trees. It was expected that if the OxO gene was benign and both tree parents (male and female) had this gene then about 50% of the offspring would have the OxO gene. It now appears that only 2% of the offspring are getting the OxO gene. So the next step is likely to be find another 'promoter' that works more like a motion sensor dimmer switch: only when needed and as much as needed. Other promoters do exist and now the challenge is to find the right one through years of lab and field testing. So this process is likely to delay having an American Chestnut that can fight the blight yet grow to full size until the 2030's. Thus the TACF has halted work on the Darling 58 project but as of Dec 15, 2023 ESF has not made an announcement.

we already lost 4 billion tree's. It was basically a tree holocuast.

This speaker got a lot wrong. The transgenic American Chestnut (aka Darling 58) has not gone through the multi-agency Federal regulatory process. It is still in the process as of December 2023. The Food & Drug Administration application has been approved because the nuts are safe to eat by people. The US Dept of Agriculture-APHIS formal decision is expected by early 2024 which will confirm that the Darling 58 is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. The final hurdle is the EPA approval which has been delayed about two times. The expectation is that limited approval will be issued by the EPA in 2025 which will mean the trees can be planted in limited areas for more scientific study. Assuming that goes well the approval for widespread planting by other groups and the general public may not happen until 2027. This isn't the final cure. For genetic diversity other 'lines' of the American Chestnut have to go through the same regulatory process but those are expected to receive quick approval once the Darling 58 line has is approved. Also the solution to the root rot fungus that killed many American Chestnuts in the coastal areas of the southeast USA in the mid 1800's has yet to be found. The Darling 58 tree is a major part of solution to the airborn blight that killed millions of these trees in the early 20th century. For more info the American Chestnut Foundation has regular free podcasts that give updates on the transgenic approval process.

is ollie a male or a female

Thank you for your work in restoring American Chestnuts to the best of your ability. It may take another 150 years to get a blight resistant 120 foot tall and 20 at the stump trees that were everywhere 120 years ago .

We will miss you Dr. Powell

This is an amazing accomplishment. I can’t wait to see some being repopulated!

I am planting all I can as soon as they approve it.

Are they finally approved for release??

I will plant them, can't wait for them to be available.

why can we create a covid vaccine within 6 months but cant develop one for chestnut blight and its been over 100 years

😭now they are extinct good old days😥 they will be remembered

Well done !

Whenever I see these beautiful horses, I am reminded that they are depicted in early human cave drawings! I hope these efforts to bring them back and reintroduce them to their native habitat.❤

Babe, horses are PERFECTLY capable of creating baby horses. And the WORLD ACTUALLY HAS WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE...SADLY, LIKE YOU... This is not unlike creating a machine, that REPRODUCES RUBBISH.. Yeah, like we'll EVER RUN OUT OF THAT....

Frankinstine

🐎🐎🐎

Why the hell are you cloning these horses they still occur in the wild in central Asia in particular China western tibet,Kazakhstan and Mongolia Why not just import them

Is that a heath hen?

Great work !

What exactly is the risk of “losing” the American Chestnut? It is already functionally extinct. There are a few trees here and there, I grow a few. I know where some are. They are holding their own. But certainly none are playing any active ecological role. So what really is the huge risk that you and others at the ACF are using for justification to release a genetically modified tree into the wild? I’ll tell you that the release of a GMO chestnut that will readily hybridize with the native tree WILL end the American Chestnut. Only the GMO tree and it’s hybrids will remain. The pure Native American chestnut will never be found again as it will be comically out competed by the GMO tree. I don’t understand all the illogical arguments to use the GMO tree. Yes you are modifying a smaller percent of the genes, but obviously the current efforts to hybridize with the Chinese (and others) Chestnuts at least maintains all the genes from actual chestnuts. All chestnut originated in the same area, the American, European, and Chinese chestnuts all used to be the same tree that evolved over geological time and the movement of tectonic plates into their own species (as defined by humans). They are all the same tree, which is WHY they hybridize with each other so easily. The GMO tree will take a wheat gene and insert it into the chestnut. I’m not inherently against GMO implementation, but at least I like to see good justification for it. I have seen it used in many needed and useful areas of agriculture, but to me this just seems like we all got impatient with the current hybridization trials and pushed the EASY button.

Thank you Eli Lily!

Despite years of testing these blight resistant trees, the non-GMO crowd at the USDA just put the brakes on the final approval for distribution to the general public. Landowners, like myself, have been waiting for years for this day only to see it taken away. Funny how the government can force a vaccine on us without any real testing, but then won't approve the restoration of the American Chestnut Tree to Appalachia. Unbelievable.

It would be interesting to see how his behavior differs from that of domesticated horses. Given domestication of coyotes, foxes, and small exotic cat breeds I can only imagine he was a handful for his mom. Was he introduced to modern horse breeds or sent directly to his new friend Holly?

It would be interesting to see how his behavior differs from that of domesticated horses. Given domestication of coyotes, foxes, and small exotic cat breeds I can only imagine he was a handful for his mom. Was he introduced to modern horse breeds or sent directly to his new friend Holly?

That long-suffering mare is thinking “as much as I love my baby, I have to admit he’s a bit different than the other kids”.

I need that

Elizabeth Ann was cloned from Willa, who passed away in the 1980s. A sad thing I learned recently, though, is that Elizabeth Ann is unable to reproduce. I do dearly hope that further genetic research may find out why this result came about, and how to avoid this problem in future scientific programmes.

Hmmm. Sounds like BS to me to justify weird genetic engineering. Traditional hybrid crosses at least represent an accelerated natural process. Dropping a wheat genome into chestnut never happens in nature. As far as risk, the environment has adjusted to the loss of mature native chestnuts, as has industry. I have naturally occurring volunteer hybrids on my property, ones that produce seed and seedlings. In time the native chestnut will come back on it's own. It is human intervention that caused the problem in the first place. It's arrogance to think that direct genetic manipulation won't have unforeseen consequences.

A little on the chubby side. 🐎

Trás para Campos do Jordão, cidade mais alta do Brasil 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

I wonder if you are able to revive the Mohoidae family of birds.

They tast good

She is an excellent speaker. It was a joy listening to her. Not sure if I agree with everything she was saying, but that's beside the point.

I do not approve of my tax money funding this.....

Wow! It would be a huge deal if the federal government approved this plan. Every living thing would be bred in a biotech lab, where scientists would inject them with a gene that makes them resistant to disease. It will create a huge opportunity in the biotechnology industry. This means that in the not-too-distant future, any company, no matter how humble, will be able to afford to set up a lab and experiment on any species they choose. Chimeras are in all places.

This is a shame. All this money should be used to protect existing species in a very fragile and declining environment. Not to restore naturally disappeared species that have nothing to do in our present world. All of this is Ego, greed and nonsense.

Keep up the good work 👍 My favorite contribution to the effort is simply finding surviving trees, especially ones producing fertile burs, to conserve as much germplasm as possible.

Enough jawboning , get the USDA approval to start a massive nationwide replanting effort and restore them to their natural range .

What would colloidal Silver do if you sprayed it on the blight?

2:15 Wouldn't it be possible to somehow suck away the opaque structure of the yolk with a hyper-sensitive instrument (which may or may not be invented yet) or suck away its pigments or dye it transluscent or something like that? Or maybe use laser scanning to find the chromosomes? I'm sure that there are many ways to solve this problem. If you have enough funding, I'm sure that there will be a way to solve cloning for birds, even if the germline alternative works fine too.

Can’t wait until we clone a Neanderthal.

I heard there was research being carried out in hypovirulence, which wouldn't alter the genetic composition of the American Chestnut, but instead be more like biological warfare on the blight itself. Has this not been successful, or are two approaches working together to restore the American Chestnut?

Hi Dr. Powell, when do you think the Transgenic Tree will be available to the public?... I believe it is still being evaluated at the FDA, USDA etc... Thx, Dave OH & WV TACF Chapters