Dr. William A. Powell, Professor, Department of
Environmental and Forest Biology, Director, Council on
Biotechnology in Forestry, SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry
The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once one of the most abundant trees in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States and had significant ecological, economic, and social value.
That all changed after an exotic pathogen was introduced into the U.S. in the late 1800s. After over a century of failed attempts to combat chestnut blight, a new biotechnological approach using transgenic
American chestnut trees is one of two strategies that are beginning to show signs of success. The transgenic trees may be the first genetically engineered organisms to be used as the foundation for a restoration program, bringing a devastated species back from the brink of extinction to their natural habitat. For this to happen, we must determine which genes will be most effective against the blight, without compromising public acceptance of the trees to be restored. We have recently demonstrated that an oxalate oxidase (OxO) transgene from wheat can significantly enhance blight resistance in lab and field assays. Trees expressing OxO were the first transgenic American chestnuts to demonstrate enhanced resistance to a fungal pathogen and were the ‘proof of concept’ for this approach. Further testing is ongoing with this gene and others to produce a tree suitable for the restoration program.
Dr. William A. Powell received his BS in biology in 1982 at Salisbury University, MD, and his PhD in 1986 at Utah State University studying the molecular mechanisms of hypovirulence in the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. He spent over two years as a postdoctoral associate at University of
Florida researching transformation techniques using the fungal pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum. In 1989 he became a faculty member at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and
Forestry at Syracuse, NY, where he began collaborating with his colleague, Dr. Charles Maynard, researching methods to develop a blight-resistant American chestnut tree. Dr. Powell currently has fortyfour peer reviewed publications and one patent. He teaches courses in Principles of Genetics, Plant
Biotechnology, and Research Design & Professional Development. He is currently the Director of the
Council on Biotechnology in Forestry and SUNY-ESF and the Co-Director of the New York State American
Chestnut Research and Restoration Program. One of his significant accomplishments is the enhancement of blight resistance in American chestnut by his research team and collaborators.