by British forests seem to develop against the invasive mushroom, which causes the devastating tree disease ashes, according to scientists.
Researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Queen Mary University of London say that they have discovered a new generation of young ash in the wild, which have greater resistance to the mushroom compared to older trees.
The results of the study concentrated on Marden Park Wood in Surrey, a semi -natural old forest that is dominated by ashes, a species that produces a large number of seedlings from every adult.
It could mean that Ash does not arise as well as Elms, which were largely lost from the British landscape due to a Dutch Ulm disease, the scientists said – although breeding programs are necessary to strengthen the fight.
Ash Dieback, which was first seen in Great Britain in 2012, causes leaf loss and crown duct and can lead to the death of tree. With fears, it could erase up to 85% of the British ash trees from use, since they have not developed a natural defense against the fungus from Asia.
However, researchers now propose that the natural selection in the wild takes place in thousands of places within the Cindere tree -dna and causes increased resistance to the disease.
The study compared the DNA of the ash trees built before and after the fungus in Great Britain and found shifts in the variants associated with tree health at thousands of places over the entire genome of the trees.
This indicates that the younger generation of trees has greater resistance to the fungus – and shows a natural selection for a characteristic that is influenced by several genes. The researchers were a phenomenon that was widely accepted but difficult to prove.
Her study in the magazine Science said that natural selection could occur partly on a reduced seed or pollen production by adult trees that were damaged by Ash mortality, and partly by the fast death of young trees that are infected by the fungus and are therefore not present in the wood.
However, she warned that it was not yet known whether the change rate would be sufficient to save the plants naturally or whether there were enough genetic variations in ash trees to lead to a fully resistant tree.
The results could be used to support breeding programs that aim to make European ash resistant to the disease.
The study author Dr. Carey Methheringham from Kew and Queen Mary said: “Thanks to the natural selection, future generations of Ash should have a better chance of withstanding an infection.
“However, natural selection alone may not be enough to create fully resistant trees.
“The existing genetic variation in the ash population can be too low, and if the trees become scarcer, the selection rate could slow down.
“Human intervention such as selective breeding and the protection of young trees from pastures of deer may be necessary to accelerate evolutionary change.”
Another of the authors of the study, Professor Richard Buggs, from Kew and Queen Mary, said: “We are so happy that these findings indicate that Ash will not go the way of Ulm in Great Britain.
“Ulm trees have tried to develop into a Dutch elm disease, but ashes show a completely different dynamic because they produce a wealth of seedlings that can affect natural selection if they are still young.
“Due to the death of millions of ashes, a more resistant ash population appears.”
Rebecca Gosling from Woodland Trust, the MARDS PARK WOOD, said: “Ash -Sterbing shows how devastatingly introduced pathogens for our trees and the species that are dependent on them.
“This important research gives us hope for the future of our ash populations.”
She added: “The results show how important it is to support natural regeneration in forests and to promote our understanding of how we can best manage our ash forests.”
The study was mainly financed by the environmental department (DEFRA), whose chief plans Health Officer Nicola Spence said that it showed that tolerance towards ASH dieblack could be inherited and breeding programs and natural regeneration could jointly secure the future of the locals.
