Scientists have solved the secret of the appearance of the Karelian birch

Skoltech specialists, together with colleagues from St. Petersburg State Forestry University and the Institute of Forestry of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, found that the cause of the development of the unique properties of the Karelian birch is a genetic mutation. Science could not understand the causes of this tree for more than a century. This is reported by Skoltech on its website.

"Karelian birch is a particularly valuable wood species. Due to its beautiful shades, patterns and durability, the material has been used since the XVIII century in the manufacture of furniture, which was even furnished by the royal chambers. Unlike the white-stemmed birch, it is a low-growing, sinuous tree with bumps and swellings. For a long time, scientists could not answer the question of why some of the plants acquire these properties, while others do not," the message says.

"Most likely, this is a mutation in one gene, and we know which chromosome it is located on. We assume that due to the "breakdown" in this locus, the normal formation of xylem - the main water—carrying tissue in the plant — is disrupted and the phenotype of the Karelian birch with its patterning is manifested," says Elena Potokina, professor at the Skoltech Center for Agrotechnology.

According to experts, there are two ways to recognize a Karelian birch: either to see the patterns on the cut, or to determine by eye the features of the trunk — the second method is often used by experienced foresters. And even if you get seeds by crossing two trees of this species, ten years later, only 60% of all of them may turn out to be Karelian.

According to experts, the Karelian birch is very difficult to reproduce, the method of crossing is too complicated.

The researchers managed to find a difference in the genomes of the Karelian and ordinary white-stemmed birch, which will allow detecting the plant already at the first stages of the life of the shoot using the PCR method - in just three hours. Up to this point, it was possible to detect the Karelian birch only by external signs, which appear after eight or more years of life.
"As explained by Elena Potokina, thanks to the discovery, the industry has received a technology with which at any stage of plant development — even on a monthly sprout — it is possible to understand whether a Karelian phenotype will appear in this tree in decades or not, and you can decide whether it is worth taking it to the plantation. This is the key to the creation of industrial plantations of these birches," Skoltech said.

Scientists hope that in this way it will be possible to protect this valuable red book tree from being cut down in places of its natural growth.
In addition to the beautiful pattern, the Karelian birch is also distinguished by its high density, which makes it attractive to furniture manufacturers, the message says.