Researchers have made a major breakthrough regarding genetically engineered wood, and it could revolutionize the push for green construction practices.
According to Innovation News Network, scientists at the University of Maryland, led by Professors Yiping Qi and Liangbing Hu, have created a form of poplar wood that is as strong as chemically treated wood and on par with aluminum in terms of tensile strength.
They accomplished this by using base editing to affect a key genome in poplar trees that deals with the production of lignin. The scientists reduced the amount of lignin in their poplar trees by almost 13%. Lignin is a polymer that helps stabilize the structure of cell walls in plants and also aids in the transport of water and nutrients.
Typically, when you engineer wood to be stronger and more durable, you do that by chemically reducing the amount of lignin in the wood. The process is energy-intensive and involves the use of a plethora of chemicals that could harm the environment.
By genetically removing that lignin from the wood before the trees have grown, scientists can reduce our reliance on harmful chemicals and further reduce the carbon footprint of construction.
Professor Qi believes that this result is just the beginning.
"This research we just published is really just a proof of concept," Qi said in an interview with Science Friday. "And ultimately what we want to do is, we would actually expand this approach, this concept, to trees that are more relevant for us to use for building material, like pine, for example. So, if we can do that, then I think, economically, that could be a lot of potential there."
Wood is becoming an increasingly popular building material due to its ability to trap planet-warming carbon dioxide. There have been significant developments in cross-laminated timber, and the first wooden blades were recently installed on a wind turbine.
Professor Qi is hopeful that this new development is just the beginning.
"This is just one major step for us to really have this result, and we are excited to explore the other trees by applying similar technologies," Qi said in the Science Friday interview.
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