Researchers are using the revolutionary gene-editing technology CRISPR to breed unique, pulp-abundant poplar trees that, as laid out in a study published [July 13], could lower the carbon footprint of paper products derived from the trees.

The trick is to grow poplars with lower levels of the substance lignin, a biopolymer that has stood in the way of cheaper large-scale production of wood fibers. In the new study, researchers used computer models to find the right chemical composition to accomplish that feat, including increasing the ratio of two “building blocks” that make up lignin as well as the carbohydrate-to-lignin ratio.

Finding the “sweet spot,” the researchers say, will yield trees with higher pulp production, which would in turn decrease the environmental impact of the products they’re turned into, like packaging and diapers.

It took 13 years for the team of half a dozen researchers to build the predictive model, which sorted through nearly 70,000 different gene-editing strategies. Large-scale machine learning models combined with CRISPR allowed the scientists to evaluate, test and process groups of poplar tree molecular structures for 21 different genes associated with tree fiber production.

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With recent developments in artificial intelligence applications and data processing, [researcher Jack] Wang hopes this technology will have far-reaching applications in the fight to combat climate change.

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