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Article: Trees, environment, and genes: in the evolutionary battle to survive and thrive, a species' parentage is just the beginning. (Heartwood).
- Article from:
- American Forests
- Article date:
- June 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 American Forests. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Think about a tree that in your mind is perfect. Now imagine creating more trees just like that one-trees that grow tall and straight, or low and spreading, trees that seem untouched by bugs or blight. How do you recreate a 'perfect tree?
It's a question that's been debated for decades. Some insist that a tree's genetic material is a recipe for superior trees, that harvesting genetic material and then producing offspring creates a "cloned tree, an exact replica of' the parent. Others insist a tree is as much a product of its environment as its parentage. Who's right? The answer begins with genetics.
The classification system devised for the plant kingdom ...