Did you know that there are at least 2,100 species of plants in the world that produce rubber?
This material can also be produced synthetically, but natural material is a natural material. On the other hand, at a time when oil palm plantations are being fought againts, it is good to think of alternatives on other fronts of the use of natural resources. Tropical rubber tree Rubber production from tropical rubber tree and its economic sustainability are currently vulnerable. So where to look for a replacement?
In the past, guayula, a desert plant from North America, was grown more significantly. The rubber dandelion of the steppes of south-eastern Kazakhstan Taraxacum koksaghyz has also been known for a long time. Researchers, including experts from the CULS Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, studied her relative, a dandelion named Taraxacum bicorne. They focused on its species classification, rubber content, but also on the identification of genes that are responsible for the production of this substance.
Although guayula and T. koksaghyz are among the most promising rubber-producing crops, we should not overlook other species, especially those closely related to these two plants. So how did T. bicorne turn out? The process of its description, classification and evaluation of potential included the compilation of herbariums, artificial cultivation and crossing, and extensive analyzes. Samples of this dandelion came from the seed banks of nine countries, e.g. China. Interestingly, rubber is stored in the plant in the upper layers of the root tissues, thus protecting the stock substance inulin (polysaccharide) from herbivores. Therefore, the physiological state of the plant and the season play a major role in the sampling of the rubber yield.
The analysis confirmed that both dandelions have a significant number of common features. In addition, T. bicorne has been shown to be genetically important because its genes responsible for rubber production have shown greater diversity. It is this property, together with the wider range of occurrence and the adaptability of growth in different conditions in various environments, that makes this species promising. It will not become an alternative for growing rubber, as it contains only 3.2% of this substance in dry matter (T. koksaghyz reaches 7.1%), but its value lies in the possibility of growing a new species by crossing, which would produce enough rubber and at the same time would grow in a variety of climatic conditions.
And what about the remaining 2096 species of rubber plants? Perhaps we will look closely at them next time.
Zeisek V, Kirschner J, van Dijk PJ, Štěpánek J, Černý T et al. (2019). Analysis of wild Taraxacum bicorne Dahlst. (Compositae– Crepidinae) as a potential alternative natural rubber crop. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, vol. 66, p. 1341-1361.
Mgr. Tomáš Černý, Ph.D.
As a teacher, Mr. Černý focuses on such important and interesting forestry subjects as Phytocoenology and Typology or Geobiocoenology. At the Department of Forest Ecology, he publishes studies concerning, for example, long-term changes in beech and spruce forests or the dynamics of active organic carbon in soils.
Prepared by Lucie Hambálková