Highlights - TBGRC 2008-2009 Annual Meeting and Report

• Continued participation in national and international regulation/policy for GM trees
• Resources for the Future Fellowship on policy/regulation of BM trees to result in three publications

• Attended UN Convention on Biodiversity, Cartagena Protogol negotiations
  - Attended meetings in Montreal, Rome, and Bonn
  - Took part in online comments on BE trees under Convention on Biodiversity

• Played major role in Forest Health Initiative Science Advisory Committee

• Two policy related publications for print in 2009
  - Nature Biotechnology (convention on Biodiversity and GE trees)
  - J. Forestry (Forest scientist views of regulatory constraints, in press)

• Strong growth effects confirmed in the greenhouse from insertion of native poplar GA genes

• High quality of field study, new mutants continue to be seen, in study of activation-tagged trees (~8% mutant rate)
  - Twenty-six wood chemistry mutants seen (Tuskan, DOE Bioenergy Center)

• PhD thesis on 4CL antisense field trees
  - Wood structure modification even at low suppression; chemical and hydraulic effects at high suppression

• Continued strong pollen reduction in 12-year old male-sterile transgenic trees - no pollen in all transgenics, controls fully fertile

• Recent publications