Academia Sinica biologists yesterday announced that they have decoded the genome of the stout camphor tree (牛樟), an endemic species, and hope to gain a better understanding of the evolution and potential medical use of the species.
Stout camphor trees grow in forests 450m to 2,000m above sea level, and are known for their aromatic oil and used in the development of new cancer treatments, Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center director Chaw Shu-miaw (趙淑妙) told a news conference in Taipei.
The number of trees has substantially declined in Taiwan due to geological changes and illegal logging, as poachers often target the trees to collect Taiwanofungus camphoratus — a rare fungus that grows on the trees’ bark that has medicinal applications, she said.
The team spent five years decoding the species’ nearly 28,000 genes, making possible its genetic preservation, replication and editing for pharmaceutical or conservation purposes, she said.
They also succeeded in cultivating a slice of the tree’s trunk in a petri dish for two months.
Artificial reproduction of tree tissue could help curb illegal poaching, as it could preserve genes in a purer environment than trees that grow wild, Chaw said.
The research results were published in a paper, “Stout camphor tree genome fills gaps in understanding of flowering plant genome evolution,” in the journal Nature Plants on Jan. 9.
Chaw said she had received many requests from abroad to share the genetic data since the paper was published, mostly from Chinese academics, and their research might also advance studies on sister species.
The team had to conduct its research under the guidance of Council of Agriculture officials, as access to the trees is regulated due to its value attraction for poachers, she added.
Stout camphor trees are protected under the Forestry Act (森林法), and people convicted of illegally logging the trees could face a prison sentence of up to seven-and-a-half years and a fine 10 to 20 times the market value of the trunk they cut, the Forestry Bureau said.
A stout camphor tree trunk could fetch between NT$130,000 and NT$210,000 per cubic meter, the bureau said.
However, poachers have recently turned their attention toward Taiwanese incense cedar, instead of stout camphor trees, it added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS