I hit a story over at Tree Hugger, and it outlines the idea to sell Christmas trees, to the public, whose genes have been spliced with that of a jellyfish, to produce bioluminescent Christmas trees.
I understand the excitement. It just sounds like pure coolness, from a visual standpoint. Your tree, glows gently without electric lights, in your living room like some refugee plant from Avatar.
But I have some questions. And maybe you do too.
1. What happens when these trees cross pollinate with other spruces? Will these jellyfish genes cross to potential progeny?
2. If these do cross pollinate and contaminate wild tree stands, will these new genes make for a new route for some sort of tree disease?
3. What happens when squirrels and other animals eat the pine nuts or cones, or nibble on other parts? Will the Jellyfish genes be potentially toxic to animals who feed or chew on parts of these trees when they are discarded?
4. If these genes get out into the wild, how will that affect insects? Bees gather resins from trees to create propolis. Will these new genes create a hazard for insects that might chew or gather items from these trees?
5. How will that affect the edibility or sale-ability of bee products that contain pollen or resins from these trees?
I know that the current fashion in some circles is to sneer at overly-concerned luddites like myself, whenever we question the wisdom of the sages that live in the ivory towers of Science, but... Well here I am, I am questioning.
Follow me through the orange portal if you too have concerns, or questions.
What is a Douglas Spruce? It appears this tree goes by several names, Douglas Fir, Oregon Pine.
It's Latin name: Pseudotsuga menziesii.
It is a popular tree in Europe, we send seeds there from the United States. This species is prevalent in our evergreen forests here in the states. So the possibility for cross pollination issues here, would be significant, as significant as the concerns with GM-Corn being grown in Central America. It would also make me wonder if it could cross pollinate with closely related trees as well. Or at least spread diseases to them.
Spotted Owls like to nest in these trees, along with Red Tree Voles. In the dead of winter, when preferred food sources are no longer available, black tailed deer will feed on the tender seedlings of this tree. Blue Grouse feed on the new growth as well in the spring.
Porcupines also eat the inner bark of young fir trees.
Forest rodents like mice, voles and shrews eat the seeds from the cones of this tree. There is even a squirrel that is a specialist, associated with this tree. The Douglas Squirrel.
This tree also hosts several species of moths.
American Sparrows, Dark Eyed Juncos, Song Sparrows, Golden Crown Sparrows, True Finches, Pine Siskin, Purple Finches, and Douglas Fir Red Crossbill, feed on the seeds as well.
You can see a very basic overview of Douglas Fir ecology at Wikipedia. I am sure there are more species than listed on this page that depend upon or interact with this species of tree.
I wonder how these genes if they escape into the wild, might affect lichens and fungi that grow on this tree as well?
What I see in this story is that Scientists over the pond are being playful and creative, but not very thoughtful. They haven't sufficiently outlined for the rest of us, how this introduction of a gene spliced tree, might affect it's parent species in it's homeland, as well as all the wildlife that depend upon that species.
If they want a glow in the dark tree, in their own lab under glass, then go for it. However this notion of selling trees here in the states, commercially, is quite a departure from an isolated moment of lab generated silliness.
I see excitement to make money, but I don't see any intention of addressing how these trees should be disposed of, or environmental hazards they might pose to our own ecosystem.
9:23 AM PT: On a parallel Note--CONFIRMATION:
"A growing body of scientific evidence has linked the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops to a serious decline in the bees and other pollinators, which are vital in producing a third of all food. The inquiry has uncovered evidence, apparently ignored by regulators, that the toxic insecticide can build up in soil to levels likely to be lethal to most insects, including the bees that overwinter in soil."
The Guardian UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
That last line is all important:
"...that the toxic insecticide can build up in soil to levels likely to be lethal to most insects, including the bees that overwinter in soil."
More on this later, just an FYI to interested parties.