Driving forward the restoration of an American icon.

The American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) nearly died off a century ago when the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica decimated chestnut forests across the eastern United States. The loss had large effects on Indigenous and European settler populations as well as on numerous wild species. Restoration efforts have been nearly as long, pursued by scientists and advocated by rural and urban forest lovers alike. Early attempts focused on traditional hybridization-based breeding methods with disease-resistant Asian chestnuts. Over the past several decades, genetic engineering became a prominent approach to producing blight-resistant trees. On page 730 of this issue, Westbrook et al. (1) report the genomic and physiological basis of blight resistance and describe how genes and genomes that contribute to resistance could be bred or transformed into the American chestnut. The analyses point to ways of accelerating the repopulation of the Appalachian forests where the American chestnut once thrived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]