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Fast collection of shoots allowed the regeneration of the tree from its own cells. Elderly tree was considered the largest of its species in the Brazilian state of Paraná.
Researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa) announced Friday that they cloned an Araucaria tree about 750 years old, which fell by 2023 in a thunderstorm, and have already planted the first seedlings resulting from this experience.
In a statement, Embrapa states that the cloned tree had 42 meters high And it was considered the largest of its species in the Brazilian state of Paraná.
Researchers who participated in the experiment stressed that “the cloning of such an old plant had great challenges, as the regenerability of elderly trees is reduced” as, over the years, plant cells reduce their multiplication rate and lose part of the ability to originate new individuals.
The technique used for cloning the 750 -year -old Brazilian tree was grafting, which consists of combining fragments of the original plant with a young seedling. As soon as the araucaria fell, shoots that were stored and grafted in seedlings already established, ensuring that the new individual had the same genetic material of the original plant was made.
The process allowed the regeneration of the tree from its own cells, maintaining characteristics such as resistance and productivity, according to Embrapa.
Of the four cloned seedlings, one was planted in the same region where the original tree fell and one in an agricultural college in the city of Cruz Machado. The third clone joined Embrapa’s genetic bank and the fourth should be planted in Curitiba, regional capital of Paraná.
