NGT poplar trees with reduced lignin content were developed with the help of AI (Sulis et al., 2023). The NGT poplars are expected to be more suitable for wood processing and paper production. They exhibit a previously unknown combination of genetic alterations and are new to the environment. The number and type of genetic changes necessary to generate this trait are within the proposed threshold for fast-track release and market approval*.

Poplars readily spread via pollen and seeds, root suckers, cuttings or broken branches. They grow almost anywhere – in old quarries, gravel pits, in sand or clay, in wetlands, mountains, plains etc.
When they grow on river banks, seeds and broken branches can be carried over long distances. If the NGT poplars are introduced into native populations, this may weaken the resistance of these populations to environmental stress conditions, as reduced lignin content usually is associated with lower stability and less resistance to tree pathogens. Therefore, the uncontrolled spread of NGT poplars could become a threat to protected species such as the black poplar (FGU, 2024).

*In this specific case, risk assessment would only be required if transgenic elements originating from the genetic engineering process (which are unnecessary for cultivation) remain in the genome.

Publication date / last update

February 2026

Further information:

FGU (2024) First-time flowering in poplars: minor genomic changes using new
genomic techniques can change species-specific characteristics. Background,
Project Genetic Engineering and the Environment.

Sulis et al. (2023) Multiplex CRISPR editing of wood for sustainable fiber production.
Science, 381(6654): 216-221.