The rebirth of the American chestnut

As the planet changes, researchers are turning to gene editing to help revive struggling plants. NBC's Noah Pransky looks at how this is being used to bring back the American chestnut.

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[wildmouse]

This is awesome! American Chestnuts were a very important tree for our forefathers. Not only did a mature tree provide an incredible amount of excellent wood but they made so many chestnuts that entire communities used them as the basis of their flour.

[johnatyoutube]

Sadly, D58 failed. It turned out that they accidentally placed the wheat gene into the wrong chromosome of the American Chestnut. The trees were terribly deformed and not viable. Back to the drawing board. Let's hope that we figure out how to get this right. These mighty trees and others in our forests depend on it.

[MrFancyFingers]

We had chestnuts on the California coast on my grandfather’s property. They weren’t huge, but bore spiky covered seeds. They all died within 5 years. It would be great to bring them back.

[johnbruenn]

This is awesome!! I applaud your efforts. It would be wonderful to see Appalachia covered in American chestnuts again.

[stephencullum]

I had about 12 mature citrus trees on my lot in Central Florida . Greening killed them all. Broke my heart. I had grown those trees for almost two decades. I hope the resistant trees are release to the public soon.

[jelena]

Mr. Hoops may be an American Chestnut expert, but doesn't realize sugar maples aren't tapped in the fall, but very late winter into early spring.

[howardpratt]

That would be awesome I remember a hugh chestnut tree at my grandfather's in the early 50's it was beautiful we definitely need more native trees in America

[nancyhsu]

Roasted chestnuts are among the most delicious foods you'll ever eat! I'm often stunned when people tell me they've never tried it.

[NYCamper]

Just an fyi; chestnut trees produce a somewhat steady nut once established, a food source wildlife such as deer & turkeys can thrive on. Unlike oaks which also produce acorns but have tannin and the mast can vary from year to year. A chestnut tree blossom is typically later then oaks thus less susceptible to frost damage.

[Sc-ldos]

I’m from Syracuse so proud of our ESF!

[manicorganic]

Im an arborist that specializes in removal and clearing as well as PHC..I do anything from planting to keeping healthy down to removal and manage several properties that have young chestnuts growing on the property completely healthy..Last year while doing a week long clearing job I came across several chestnut trees..I immediately marked them and noted to the customer that I will not remove them personally, I would trim but I will not remove them as they are considered a extinct species and most that are growing eventually die..where I live tree species dominance varies by area, some woods might be all cherry and maple and 5 miles away you got oak hickory with a bit of maple its not like your walking in the woods and finding every species, the customers I have with chestnuts live right next door and share the same massive stretch of woods that is heavily cottonwood and im talking huge cottonwoods so its kinda unique to find a chestnut hidden in the mix and these trees are growing fine yet nowhere else in my work area have I ever seen one...on a side note i like how he compares to maples dying out...open your eyes them maples are usually the most rotted tree and most maple removals i have done was a hollow rotted out shell..same thing with woods full of cherry dying out..leave nature alone and let it do its thing..

[JohnnyPeacenic]

Next we need to bring back the American elm.

[J.C...]

Now we're losing the ash trees and there is no saving them.

[justinciallella]

Chinquapin, the chestnut's little cousin, can still be found in eastern forests.

[victortillamillamonster]

FYI it wasn't just the blight that took out the chestnuts. When the blight was noticed authorization was given to loggers to take down as much of the chestnuts as they wanted since they presumed they were gonna die anyway. So humans went after the chestnut tress as the blight attacked them too. Any blight resistant chestnut trees were chopped down by humans so they never were able to naturally evolve resistance....

[Paelorian]

Our forest have been devastated. The chestnuts are gone, and so are the elm and the ash. Even the mighty and majestic California redwoods are endangered and in decline. While I'd prefer non-GMO chestnuts, I suppose I'm glad that a variety of techniques are being tried to save these native species from invasive diseases. Selective breeding programs are also being run to breed hardier American chestnuts that can survive the blight. But GMO chestnuts are better than no chestnuts. Where chestnuts thrive, they provide a lot of food for native wildlife, livestock, and people.

[StillPlaysWithModelTrains]

Finally, some real news from the Legacy Networks. Thank you.

[billneo]

I don’t know how you expect us to take this piece seriously when one of your "experts" talks about tapping maple trees in the Fall. The sap is collected in the Spring!

[mellowyellowmom]

Glad we can use science to bring back such an amazing tree!

[vortexgen]

We can't let any of our trees species go away. They are all too important to let disappear. We need all of them.