For over 40 years, biotechnology and genetic engineering (GE) have been used in the development of medicines and biologic agents important in protecting and augmenting human health and have been met with broad public acceptance in the health care arena. GE has also been used to improve and develop plants important to agriculture and forestry, but in these areas, has often encountered intense opposition that has prevented or delayed the introduction of potentially useful plants. Much of the opposition to GE's application in agriculture and forestry may be driven by concerns that GE plants will serve primarily to encourage the domination of the food and wood products industries by monopolistic corporations and/or will be disruptive to the environment. But to conflate genetic modifications intended to promote healthy ecosystems or preserve threatened species with GE projects aimed at benefiting corporate agriculture and forestry is misleading and illogical. Further, the pervasive human disruption and damage to forest ecosystems makes it prudent to bring the best that science can offer to the protection and restoration of critical woodland denizens and broader ecosystem health. The notion that minimal human intervention in the forest environment may be the best approach ignores our responsibility to help manage and protect some of the very places that have suffered most from human intrusion. GE efforts intended to improve forest health should be afforded the same consideration, acceptance, and support as GE efforts intended to improve human health. These efforts should include the use of GE technology such as carefully developed transgenic trees to cure ongoing forest pathogenesis such as the chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), which threatens to drive the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) to extinction. Article impact statement: Genetic engineering used to protect forest health should be afforded the same support as genetic engineering used to protect human health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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医学生物技术作为森林恢复和转基因美洲板栗引进的范例

40 多年来，生物技术和基因工程 (GE) 已被用于开发对保护和增强人类健康很重要的药物和生物制剂，并在卫生保健领域得到了广泛的公众认可。转基因还被用于改良和开发对农业和林业很重要的植物，但在这些领域经常遇到强烈反对，从而阻止或延迟了潜在有用植物的引入。大部分反对 GE 在农业和林业中的应用可能是由于担心 GE 植物将主要用于鼓励垄断公司对食品和木制品行业的统治和/或会对环境造成破坏。但是，将旨在促进健康生态系统或保护受威胁物种的基因改造与旨在使企业农业和林业受益的转基因项目混为一谈是一种误导和不合逻辑的做法。此外，人类对森林生态系统的普遍破坏和破坏使得将科学所能提供的最好的东西用于保护和恢复重要的林地居民和更广泛的生态系统健康是明智的。认为对森林环境进行最少人为干预可能是最佳方法的观念忽视了我们帮助管理和保护一些遭受人类入侵最严重的地方的责任。与 GE 旨在改善人类健康的努力一样，GE 旨在改善森林健康的努力应该得到同样的考虑、接受和支持。这些努力应包括使用转基因技术，例如精心开发的转基因树木，以治疗持续存在的森林病害，例如栗疫病（Cryphonectria parasitica），这种病有可能导致美洲板栗（Castanea dentata）灭绝。文章影响声明：用于保护森林健康的基因工程应得到与用于保护人类健康的基因工程相同的支持。本文受版权保护。版权所有。用于保护森林健康的基因工程应得到与用于保护人类健康的基因工程相同的支持。本文受版权保护。版权所有。用于保护森林健康的基因工程应得到与用于保护人类健康的基因工程相同的支持。本文受版权保护。版权所有。