By
Chris EllisBBC News Online, South West
The
DNA of endangered trees found only in the Caucasus Mountains will be analysed
by a botanist in Devon and a London university in a bid to find out more
information about their evolution.
The
birch tree seeds have been brought back to Devon by Paul Bartlett, from Stone
Lane Gardens, in Chagford.
Scientists
from Queen Mary, University of London, plan to test three species of birch
found only in the mountain range, which extends across several countries
including Georgia, southern Russia and Azerbaijan.
Mr
Bartlett said he believed the research had never been done before and was new
to science.
He
said: "The trees have been grown in the UK in the past, using seed sent by
Caucasian botanists, but the seed I have collected is possibly the first seed
brought back by anyone from the UK."
Mr
Bartlett will germinate the seeds and raise the seedlings in Devon.
Very
rare
Tissue
samples will then be sent to the university for analysis, which includes
counting the number of chromosomes, which house the genetic code DNA.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!