What these dodos fail to realise is that there will be oilseed...

What these dodos fail to realise is that there will be oilseed plant breeders eying this with a mind to genetically engineering commonly grown oilseed crops such as canola or soybeans to produce a highly valuable essential oil (sandalwood oil) in an easily grown broadacre crop. The biggest threat to the sandalwood timber industry is GM oilseed crops ...



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Gene discovery will help Kimberley sandalwood industry

Friday, 31/07/2009

A major genetic discovery is set to revolutionise Western Australia's multi-million-dollar sandalwood industry.

Researchers have discovered the gene which kick-starts oil production in both native and tropical varieties of sandalwood, one of the world's most fragrant and expensive timbers.

WA's Kimberley region is home to the world's largest tropical sandalwood plantation on the Ord River, and there are growing areas of native planations being established in the wheatbelt.

Dr Liz Barbour, from WA's Forest Products Commission, says management decisions in the past have taken years to show results, but the discovery of the gene will change that.

"Because we now know the DNA and the enzyme that's involved in the process, we can give different treatments or whatever to a plant," she says.

"And we can actually see within months whether the activity increases or not, because we can just measure the enzyme activity."

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200907/s2642182.htm