LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working on a new prevention method for laurel wilt, an invasive fungus killing multiple tree species in Kentucky.
Laurel wilt is an invasive fungus that affects many plants throughout the country but is particularly affecting sassafras trees and spice bush in the Bluegrass, according to Dr. Ellen Crocker, associate professor of forest health extension at the University of Kentucky.
“So what you’d expect to see with laurel wilt disease would be wilty, droopy leaves, early fall colors, and a loss of those leaves and eventually the death of those trees,” Crocker said.
How the fungus spreads
The fungus is spread through invasive beetles that carry it, creating what Crocker described as a compounding problem for trees.
“You have these invasive beetles that are attracted to healthy trees, the fungus that they carry, which normally they just eat, spreads throughout the tree and kill the tree so it’s kind of unexpected double whammy for the tree,” Crocker said.
New prevention research
Sassafras is known for its historic use in flavoring root beer, but laurel wilt is reducing the tree’s population. Crocker’s team is researching a possible prevention method called RNA interference, a technique that uses the fungus’s own genetic code against it.
“I kind of compare it to using a computer hacker’s own antivirus software against it. In this case, it would be tricking the fungus into recognizing itself as a problem and silencing its own important production of proteins, and that could kill it if we can get this technology to work really well,” Crocker said.
The technology is still a long way from being used in the field. Residents who notice unhealthy plants can contact their county extension agent to report the issue and get guidance.
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