Project Leaders:   
Janice Cooke, Joerg Bohlmann

Lead Institutions:   
University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Northern British Columbia

Project Website:   
The Tria Project

Research Funding Program:   
Applied Genomics Consortium Program

The current mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic in British Columbia is the largest bark beetle outbreak in recorded history. More than 15 million hectares of pine forests are currently affected by MPB. Warmer winters are thought to have permitted the beetle to invade regions in which it has never been previously recorded. The epidemic has now crossed the Rocky Mountain barrier into Alberta, from which it may spread further into Canada’s vast boreal forest. The MPB system constitutes interactions between three biological systems: invading bark beetles carry with them symbiotic fungi, which act together at epidemic levels to kill pine tree hosts.

Decades of research on mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and related species have generated extensive knowledge of the ecology and physiology of several bark beetle species. In contrast, we only have a very limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms behind bark beetle epidemics and population genomics. Specifically, the interactions of the beetle-associated pathogenic fungi with the bark beetles and their host pine trees are not well understood. Additionally, very few genomic resources are available to investigate the interactions of the MPB system components.

In this project, a comprehensive genomics approach will be used to develop genomic resources for beetle-fungal-tree host interactions. Proteomic and metabolomic approaches will complement transcript profiling of the interacting bark beetles, fungi and pine trees. Using an integrated sampling scheme that covers each of the interacting biological systems (MPB, fungi, pine) at tree, stand, and landscape spatial scales, the research team will characterize the genetic population structure of the vector, pathogen and host in relation to landscape and ecological features.

The genomic information generated at the individual (MPB, fungi, tree) and population levels will be incorporated into ecological risk models to support decision-making around short-term outbreak progression and long-term forecasts of MPB spread. These models will incorporate not only scenarios of MPB spread and infestation dynamics, but also MPB-fungal-tree population variation, expansion and host switching. It is anticipated that the proposed approach will provide informed mitigation strategies for government and industry to maintain their stewardship and leadership position in sustainable forestry.

The expected outputs of this project are:

1. The first complete genome sequence for a tree-killing bark beetle-associated fungal pathogen;
2. Transcriptome sequences for the MPB and the pine tree host;
3. Identification of genes that are linked to bark beetle fitness, fungal pathogenicity, and tree resistance to the pathogen;
4. Application of information from (1)-(3) to enhance forest pest management practices by improving the accuracy of predictive environmental risk models, and developing diagnostics for forest pests and diseases.

The initial phase of this project is expected to be two years. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers is led by Dr. Joerg Bohlmann from the UBC and Dr. Janice Cooke from the University of Alberta. This project is a natural extension of Genome British Columbia's investment in forestry genomics research projects, which have been at work for more than seven years. While this first phase of the Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic Project is being funded by Genome BC and Genome Alberta, it is expected that a more comprehensive national and international effort investigating host/fungal-pathogen interactions will follow.