Genetic Testing Speeds Bid to Restore American Chestnut

A new peer‑reviewed study in Science reports that genome sequencing and genetic testing can sharply accelerate breeding of disease‑resistant American chestnut trees, raising hopes of re‑establishing the species across Eastern U.S. forests in coming decades. Researchers from The American Chestnut Foundation and HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center mapped regions of the chestnut genome linked both to height and competitiveness and to resistance to the blight and root rot that wiped out billions of trees by the 1950s. By screening seedlings’ DNA, they can now identify at a young age which hybrids carry 70%–85% American chestnut ancestry plus Chinese‑chestnut disease resistance, instead of waiting years to see which trees survive and grow tall. That shortens breeding cycles and could produce robust, forest‑worthy chestnuts much faster than traditional selection alone. Outside experts say the work pinpoints promising genes but note that regulatory roadblocks still slow more direct approaches like gene editing, which some argue could deliver resilient trees even sooner.