2018 Fall Poster Session

The American Chestnut Foundation® (TACF) leads the effort to restore the American chestnut, bringing this important issue to the forefront of current conservation initiatives. The TACF Annual Meetings bring together scientists, conservationists, private landowners and industry professionals to share information and perspectives about the American chestnut and inspire reintroduction of this species to eastern forests.  The meetings provide an opportunity to enhance awareness of the importance of American chestnut restoration, explore partnerships, exchange information and discuss this exciting project with a wide audience.

The Poster Session

TACF’s poster session aims to recognize the breadth of topics under investigation in the name of species restoration. It is a great way to expose attendees to the most current research, and the variety of American chestnut projects being pursued. Research posters address topics relative to American chestnut restoration and include, but are not limited to:

  • Silviculture and forest management
  • Chestnut blight, Phytophthora cinnamomi (ink disease) and other pests and pathogens
  • Forest genetics
  • Restoration and reintroduction
  • Mine-land reclamation
  • Forest and wildlife ecology
  • History
  • Timber value/use
  • Breeding and biotechnology
  • Other topics related to American chestnut

Year on year,  the Poster Session is a highlight of the Fall Annual Meetings, and 2018 was no exception.  17 posters were presented, contributed by members, chapters and students from schools around the country. Please see the complete guide to the presentations in the 2018 Poster Session Abstracts below.

2018 Poster Session Abstracts

2018 Poster Presentations

John Carlson

The Chinese Chestnut (Castanea Mollisima) Genome

Carlson, JE¹; Staton, M, E²; Addo-Quaye, C3,1; Cannon, N¹; Fan, S4; Nelson, C, D4,7; Henry, N²; Yu, J²; Huff, M²; Zhebentyayeva, T¹; Wu, D¹; Conrad, A4; Ficklin, S5; Saski, C5; Mandal, M6, Islam-Faridi, N7; Zembower, N¹; Drautz,, D8; Schuster, S, C8; Swale, T10; Sun, Y11; Westbrook, J9; Holliday, J6; Abbott, A, G1,4; Hebard, F. V9. 2018.
¹Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA 16802 (jec16@psu.edu); ²University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA 37996; ³Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston,ID, USA 83501; 4Forest Health Research and Education Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA 40506; 5Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA 29634; 6Virginia Polytechnic University, Blacksburg, VA, USA 24061; 7USDA Forest Service, Saucier, MS, USA 39574; 8Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore 639798; 9The American Chestnut Foundation, Meadowview, VA, USA 24361; 10Dovetail Genomics LLC, 5790, Delaware Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; 11Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223 China

Martin Cipollini

Evaluation of an Alternative Small Stem Assay for Blight Resistance in Castanea spp. Seedlings

Cipollini, M, L¹; Moss, JP¹; Walker, W¹; Bailey, N¹; 2018.
¹Berry College, Department of Biology, 2277 Martha Berry Highway, Mount Berry, GA

Martin Cipollini

Georgia offers unique opportunities to incorporate greater genetic diversity in Castanea breeding programs

Cipollini, M.L.¹; Metaxas, A.M.²; Klaus, J.³; Klaus, N.4; Moss, JP.¹; Walker, W.¹; Bailey, N.¹ 2018.
¹Berry College, 2277 Martha Berry Highway NW, Mount Berry, GA; ²Fibro Chem, 1521 East Walnut Avenue, Dalton, GA; ³4684 GA Highway 83 South, Culloden, GA; ³Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Conservation Section, Forsyth, GA

Lillian Culver

Survivorship of large-scale American chestnut planting driven by soil moisture

Lillian Culver, Thomas Saielli, Anthony Percival, Howie Neufeld, Mike Madritch
¹Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC; ²The American Chestnut Foundation, 900 Natural Resources Dr, Charlottesville, VA

Brett Fredericksen

Comparisons in drought response between American chestnut, Chinese chestnut, and assorted BC3F3 hybrids

Fredericksen, B, W¹; Rosenthal, D, M¹; 2018.
¹Ohio University, 22 Richland Avenue, Athens, OH

Kirsten Hein

Implementing Early Screening Methods to Detect Resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi in First-Backcross Chinese-American Chestnut Hybrids

Hein, K.M., Perkins, M.T., Craddock, J.H. 2019.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN

Meg Miller

Small Stem Assay for Chestnut Blight Resistance in Segregating Full-Sib Families of F2 Chestnut Trees

Miller, M.J. ¹; Craddock, J.H. 1 2018.
¹Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN

Shelby Osborne

Predictive Ecology: Simulating long-term changes in forest populations, with applications for chestnut reintroduction

Hammond, S. T.¹; Osborne, S. D.¹; 2018.
¹University of North Dakota; University Ave Grand Forks, ND

Taylor Perkins

Morphological and DNA evidence support recognition of Alabama chinquapin, Castanea pumila var. alabamensis

M. Taylor Perkins¹, Tatyana Zhebentyayeva², Paul H. Sisco³, J. Hill Craddock¹ 2018.
¹Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
²The Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University
³The American Chestnut Foundation (Carolinas Chapter)

William Smith

Chestnut Breeding for Resistance to Cryphonectria parasitica and Phytophthora cinnamomi at UTC

Smith, W.S. ¹ and Craddock, J.H. 1 2018.
¹Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga TN

TAtyana Zhebentyayeva

Functional genomics analyses of the resistance/susceptible response in chestnut seedlings to Phytophthora cinnamomi infection

Tatyana Zhebentyayeva¹, Rooksana Noorai², Andrew Gitto³, Steven Jeffers³, Paul Sisco4, M. Taylor Perkins5, Hill Craddock5, Nishanth Tharayil³, Christopher Saski ², John Carlson¹, C. Dana Nelson6,7 and Albert G. Abbott7
¹The Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA;
²Clemson University Computational Biology and Genomics Laboratory, 308 Biosystems Research Complex, 105 Collings St, Clemson, SC;
³Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC;
4The American Chestnut Foundation (Carolinas Chapter), Asheville, NC;
5Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN;
6Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Saucier, MS;
7Forest Health Research and Education Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

The Student Competition

Since 2015, a competition has been held for the student poster presenters.  All students (undergraduate, graduate, high school, etc.) are welcome to participate and judges from TACF’s scientific community assess the posters themselves, as well as the students’ presentation of their work.  Judging is held just prior to our Saturday Night Gala dinner, where the winners are announced and presented with their cash awards and certificates. 2018 brought six student presenters to the competition.

2018 Student Competition Winners

1st Place: Andy Newhouse:

Environmental Interactions with Transgenic American Chestnuts

Newhouse, A.E.¹; Powell W.A.¹; with gracious acknowledgement to many research collaborators. 2018.
¹State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry,  1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY

Andy’s Winning Poster

2nd Place:  Hannah Pilkey:

Long-Term Freezer Storage of American Chestnut Pollen

Pilkey, H. C.¹; Coffey, V.¹; Matthews, D. F.¹; Oakes, A. D.¹; Powell, W. A.¹ 2018.
¹SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Dr., Syracuse, NY

Hannah’s Winning Poster

3rd Place: Trent Deason

Graft-based conservation of under-sampled American chestnut populations in the South

Trent Deason¹, Hill Craddock¹
¹Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga TN

Trent’s Winning Poster