Tree genetics look like they have made a giant leap forward to produce faster growing trees, with the news that the world’s largest hardwood pulp producer is to make available the highest quality eucalyptus genome sequence ever released to the public.

FuturaGene, the biotech division of Suzano – in collaboration with Corteva Agriscience – is supporting open-source science as the genome will be freely accessible to both public and private scientists, allowing further research into the world’s most economically important crops.

Fast-growing commercial planted eucalyptus are among the most important global sources of wood, pulp and other fibre-based products, which can be used as raw materials to replace fossil fuel-derived products.

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The enhanced genome sequence data will now be made freely available to academia, the private sector and the wider scientific community to facilitate research to advance understanding and innovation in eucalyptus cultivation, including the identification and selection of beneficial traits for crop resilience, forest health and sustainable wood production.

Dr Mike May, FuturaGene’s VP for public affairs said: “Building on our heritage of over two decades of tree genetics research, we hope that by publicly releasing this enhanced genome sequence we will help strengthen the global research community on eucalyptus. The release of this genome to the public is in line with FuturaGene’s continued intent to share the value of our research and encourage sustainable innovation to better the planet.”

For Corteva, Glenn Brooke, said: “This improved sequence will be an essential tool for expanding efforts in molecular breeding of eucalyptus. As we face increasing demand for wood and wood-based products, this dataset will benefit the scientific community’s understanding of eucalyptus, which is one of the most sustainable renewable wood crops, ensuring that globally we can improve the crop’s resilience and ensure farming can be done efficiently, effectively and sustainably.”

Some joint research work by the two companies has now led to an improved and more accurate genome sequence from that which came to light in the early years of the project in 2014. This fully-phased genome has been uploaded to the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s GenBank, BioProject and is available from now.

Scientists from FuturaGene, and Corteva shared the detailed sequencing methods of this project at the upcoming Plant and Animal Genome Conference, in San Diego, last month. It is hoped that the methodology used will prove helpful in future genomics work with eucalyptus, including projects that may contribute to ensuring food security and improved forest health.