GM Eucalyptus and poplar trees in Israel may make the desert bloom.

"After two years most of [the transgenic poplars] outperformed the control group. Some produced up to 370 percent more wood than the controls... their wood was also of a higher quality...[in] a field trial of modified eucalyptus trees ...A normal [Eucalyptus] tree takes about three times the amount of land to produce the same amount [of wood] as the transgenic technology"

HOW ADAPTATION WORKS: ISRAELI RESEARCHERS STEM THE TIDE OF DESERTIFICATION
Israel21c, 21 May 2006 By Tania Hershman

As the planet heats up, the population grows and natural resources are exploited, drylands - over half of the world's productive land - are becoming increasingly infertile and uninhabitable.

This process - called desertification - is a direct cause of famine in third world countries. But it is not just an African or Asian problem: desertification affects over two thirds of the drylands in the US.

Israeli scientists, using know-how gained from decades of 'making the desert bloom', are at the forefront of the global effort to find new technologies that take the pressure off of our valuable drylands.

...Oded Shoseyov, a professor at the Hebrew University Institute of Plant Sciences and Agriculture, is concerned with the next step: the crops that this water is irrigating. "I am working on plant genetic modification for reforestation," he says. "The importance of forests cannot be overestimated. Every year forest five times the size of the state of Israel is logged." Less trees means more carbon dioxide, and this is a major factor in the greenhouse effect that leads to desertification.

Shoseyov and his team identified several genes connected with the cellulose in trees that is one of the crucial factors in tree growth. By modifying these genes, they have created transgenic plants that grow far faster than regular trees.

The first tree they modified was the poplar, the paper industry's most popular tree. Shoseyov conducted a field trial in the US, and "after two years most of [the transgenic poplars] outperformed the control group," he told ISRAEL21c. "Some produced up to 370 percent more wood than the controls." The transgenic poplars were logged and it was found that their wood was also of a higher quality. He is currently running a field trial of modified eucalyptus trees - also widely used to make paper - in Israel and planning a field trial in Thailand. "A normal tree takes about three times the amount of land to produce the same amount [of wood] as the transgenic technology," he says.

Shoseyov has also modified potato plants to shorten their growth cycle and require less water. "This is important for Israel, and also for northern countries such as Sweden where the land freezes," he says. Sweden is testing his transgenic potato plants. Shoseyov is the chief scientist for a Rehovot-based Israeli start-up, CBD Technologies, which licensed his research from the Hebrew University in order to commercialize the techniques.

Tania Hershman is a free-lance writer based in Israel.

See also GM Eucalyptus that is salt-tolerant.