0:00:25 > 0:00:26Ash.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29As much a part of the British countryside as green hills
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and leaden skies.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35But this beautiful landscape now faces a terrible threat.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37The reawakening of a hidden killer.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Ash dieback, the deadly pathogen that had ravaged trees
0:00:42 > 0:00:47across Europe, emerged here on our own shores last year.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50It was identified as Chalara fraxinea.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55A lethal fungus brought to Britain on windblown spores
0:00:55 > 0:00:57and imported saplings.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02It's arrival sounded the death knell for our beloved ash tree
0:01:02 > 0:01:07and ash dieback became a household phrase.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10BBC NEWS THEME
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Britain's ash trees under threat.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The Government's emergency committee meet
0:01:16 > 0:01:18to discuss the killer infection.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22A ban on the import of ash trees will come into force on Monday.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24We are all being urged by the Government to wash our dogs,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28our boots, even our children, if we venture into woodland this weekend.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30In the wake of the 2012 crisis,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and in an effort to protect our trees for the future,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37the Government has taken the unprecedented step
0:01:37 > 0:01:40of making plant health as important as animal health.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The trouble is it all seemed a little too late for the ash.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49So, what now?
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Things have gone eerily quiet over the winter as the fungal spores
0:01:52 > 0:01:54have lain dormant.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57But with life returning to our countryside, the question is,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01is the advance of the disease now simply inevitable?
0:02:01 > 0:02:04We need to get down in the ground, dodge the nettles, and we are
0:02:04 > 0:02:08going to start hunting for fallen...
0:02:08 > 0:02:09they're called rachises.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12They are basically these bits. You see these bits here.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15What will have happened, you see, is last year, the infection would
0:02:15 > 0:02:19have occurred down here and then obviously, as it is a deciduous
0:02:19 > 0:02:23tree, the leaves fall off, they drop to the ground, the leaves rot
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and all we will be left with are little leaf stalks like this.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28They will have blackened up but it's not just them.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30We want the blackened up and the fungus growing out of it,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33the little mushrooms growing out of it. That is what we need to get.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37How big are these mushrooms? Something to make an omelette with?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39An omelette for maybe a hobbit.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The signs of ash dieback are easy to spot on the trees,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46but to understand how it spreads, you need to find
0:02:46 > 0:02:50the highly infectious spores that come from the fungus itself.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53That's exactly what plant pathologists from FERA,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57the Food and Environment Research Agency, are trying to do.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01So the brown marks that you see on the bark of the tree, that
0:03:01 > 0:03:04tell-tale sign, that's not actually what's giving off the spore itself?
0:03:04 > 0:03:07No, not at all. That's non-infectious.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09The fungus is actually killing the tissue,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11producing toxins and killing the tree.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17It's really quite chilling to think something this small
0:03:17 > 0:03:19could end up felling something that big.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20It's amazing, isn't it?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Paul and I are struggling to find anything
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- but one of Paul's colleagues has had some success.- Look what I've found.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31What have you got there? Hang on a second, Ian's got something.
0:03:33 > 0:03:40- Really small.- Hey, that's looking quite good. Have a look at that.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- This one here?- Right in the middle, have a look at that, Tom.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48- Put your hand lens on that one. Look at that.- Looks like a sort of...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52It looks faintly mushroom-shaped but it's very...
0:03:52 > 0:03:55You can see it actually growing out of the stalk.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- What do you think? - Can I have a close look?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04That's certainly the best we've found so far, Ian.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- Good job, well done.- Ian's got it!
0:04:08 > 0:04:12The commonly-held view is that the Chalara fraxinea fungus IS now
0:04:12 > 0:04:16reproducing in Britain. That would mean nowhere in the country is safe.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21But no-one has been able to confirm those worst fears until today.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27My goodness. That's quite strong.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31You see, this is the sample we put in there. Look at that.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It's coming up. If that goes up, that means it's positive.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37So it looks like we've got Chalara in that sample?
0:04:37 > 0:04:41We've got the sporing stage of this particular fungus picked up from the
0:04:41 > 0:04:46ground which has never been found in the UK before, so this is a first.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49The first time we have found this infective stage of ash dieback
0:04:49 > 0:04:50- in Britain.- Absolutely.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54This indicates that this is the first-ever finding of it in the UK.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56In some ways, you don't know whether to be pleased
0:04:56 > 0:04:58or horrified with news like that, do you?
0:04:58 > 0:05:03Yeah, I mean, from a pathology point of view it's an exciting finding.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07That line is proof that we have infective Chalara in Britain.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- So we've got a positive?- Yes, that's the positive control there.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12Look at this.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15- You found it.- Yes. Honoured(!).
0:05:15 > 0:05:18You don't know whether to be honoured or not, really,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23with something as dangerous as this, as lethal as this.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- It looks like it is here to stay. - Hmm.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30In any battle, the first stage in beating your enemy
0:05:30 > 0:05:33is to know your enemy. And now we know.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37As we've heard, it's here to stay.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39A slim hope that maybe the infection was just
0:05:39 > 0:05:42blowing in from the Continent has just evaporated.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48So, does this mean the march of infectious spores
0:05:48 > 0:05:52sweeping through our forests is now simply unstoppable?
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Professor Chris Gilligan from Cambridge University chairs the
0:05:56 > 0:06:01Independent Tree Taskforce set up in response to last year's outbreak.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04He's been keeping close tabs on its progress.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We know something about the rate of spread across the continent,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12so we can use that to think then about how to model and predict
0:06:12 > 0:06:16what's going to happen to the spread throughout the UK.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18And you've got a little bit of the green,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22- particularly on this Kent and East Anglia area.- That's correct.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25And as we run it forward, you'll see the year changing up here
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and the intensity of the colour changes.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33With red indicating high probability.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Wow. We've now moved nearly ten years hence to 2022.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40And you've got red area which is high risk,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45still predominantly in a south-easterly area.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49But some risk affecting all of England
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and quite a bit of southern Scotland as well.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55If predictions are correct, we ARE going to see the disease
0:06:55 > 0:06:59gain a stranglehold over the next decade.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02But there are still things all of us can do to slow its progress,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05from brushing off our boots and tyres, to monitoring
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and reporting damaged trees in our local area.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Generally, though, when you look at our intervention, are we talking
0:07:12 > 0:07:14about delaying the spread of this disease
0:07:14 > 0:07:16rather than having a hope of stopping it?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18We're not going to stop it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20It would be very unlikely that that would occur,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25when, as we saw, that spread right across the continent of Europe.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29So actually, delay is really important because it buys us time
0:07:29 > 0:07:31to find ways of fighting it?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It really is important to delay the epidemic where we can.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38I suppose it gives more time for our ingenuity to find
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- a way of fighting back?- Absolutely.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43The prospects don't look good.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47But, as I'll be finding out later, the battle isn't over yet.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52The North Wales coastline.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Rocky, weather-beaten cliffs hug the Irish Sea.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59A typical coastal scene on the face of it.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02But look a little closer and you'll find something quite bizarre.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04A living labyrinth.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Surely one of the most intricate things that
0:08:07 > 0:08:09mother nature has ever created?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11It might look a little bit like a sponge,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15but believe me, this stuff is really quite solid.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19And it's built by one of the finest ecological engineers out there.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25The honeycomb worm, or Sabellaria alveolata.
0:08:25 > 0:08:26Their reef-like homes
0:08:26 > 0:08:29are predominately found on the west coast of the UK
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and are currently recognised as a threatened habitat.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34But a couple of marine scientists from Bangor University
0:08:34 > 0:08:37are undertaking some pioneering research to try and help
0:08:37 > 0:08:41regenerate reefs that might be struggling.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I'm meeting Dr Andy Davies to find out more about how
0:08:44 > 0:08:47they build these peculiar homes.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50How are you doing, Andy? It looks like a moonscape, this.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55The tunnels are built from sand and shell by the worm colonies,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57who favour safety in numbers.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02There are many, many hundreds of them, if not thousands in this area.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04And they all grow together in, like, a semi-detached
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and a terraced housing style to form this honeycomb.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10So they're known as the honeycomb worm.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14As you can see, the tube is formed by individual worms here.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17The further down it goes, the more safe it is from predators.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- You love these, don't you?- I do. I love them. Anything which is reefy.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Well, I've never seen them until today
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- and I might start loving them, too! We'll see how we go.- Brilliant.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34In the same way that coral reefs support a host of marine life
0:09:34 > 0:09:38in the tropics, these sand tunnels built by these humble worms
0:09:38 > 0:09:43are massively important for biodiversity on our shoreline.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Fellow worm fan Steve Newstead
0:09:47 > 0:09:51works alongside Andy at the School of Ocean Sciences.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54These marine-minded chaps love the worms so much,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58they are studying them in a way they've never been studied before.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01They are the first scientists to develop test tube worms,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04rearing larvae under laboratory conditions,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08to get a better understanding of their crazy tube-building ways.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- How are you doing, Steve?- Hi, Ellie.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16- What is it about these worms you love so much?- These worms are great.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18They form these fantastic hummocks,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22these sand formations that we find on the shore.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24They are habitat engineers, OK.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27What they are doing is creating niches,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30pockets for other species to live within them.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33They are providing an attachment site for possible algae
0:10:33 > 0:10:34to start growing.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38They are also providing some protection from some water
0:10:38 > 0:10:41movements, in maybe the lee of the water and so on.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44They provide this function that enhances the biodiversity.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Wow. So we can see them coming out now, they are under the water.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51You can see the little black hairy feelers that are coming out.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54That's them feeding when they are submerged in water.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57They will come out of the tube by a few millimetres.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59And they will extend their tentacles out
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and capture organic particles and filter feed that way.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05And then all of a sudden they will retract?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08They will retract in when a predator or something comes along.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13My big head, in this case. How do they build these amazing structures?
0:11:13 > 0:11:17They are unique because they excrete a biological cement, where
0:11:17 > 0:11:21they will collect sand grains from around them, from the water column,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and they will excrete this cement and then stick them together.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29They are almost building like a dry stone wall around themselves.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34They will do that straight after their larval stages.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36And they will then build this tube for the rest of their life.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42To give the worms the best start in life,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47the boys grow them on slates in sea-like conditions in these tanks.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50- Can we have a look at one? - I will just show you this one here.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52These little ones, around eight weeks old,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54are forming the first tunnels.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- Still quite delicate. - Really, still quite small.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00We have the settlement here, on the slate plate, OK.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And these are the small hummocks and the small tubes we have got there.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08The aim is for these slates to eventually be attached to
0:12:08 > 0:12:11existing reefs, so the youngsters continue to grow
0:12:11 > 0:12:14and strengthen communities in areas where they may be struggling.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22But to find out which reefs need a bit of help,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Andy and Steve monitor them using a sophisticated bit of kit.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30A balloon on a string with a precariously-dangled camera.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32OK, Ellie, now we've got the balloon up,
0:12:32 > 0:12:38what we want to try and do is slowly walk the camera over the reef.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42What the camera is doing is it is taking images every four seconds.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Once we've stitched the images together,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47we'll get this panoramic view of the reef.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- You are basically mapping out where this honeycomb reef is?- Absolutely.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Once you've got that, what are you going to do with it?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56We want to try and see how the reef changes over time.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02We want to map this over the years and see how much it grows,
0:13:02 > 0:13:03how much it reduces,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06to try and get an understanding in the changes of the reef itself.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08I love the way it is just a balloon and a camera.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- It is like super-accessible science. - That's it, very simple indeed.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- No lab coats required for this? - Not at all. No!
0:13:16 > 0:13:20So, aerial images to show scale, plus a bit of close-up counting
0:13:20 > 0:13:23using this grid split into centimetre squares.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25We just put that on there.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Should roughly equal how many worms there are in this bit of reef.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Simple. OK, five per centimetre square, I think.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- Five per centimetre square?- Yes. - Perfect.- All right.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39So, five worms in one centimetre square works out
0:13:39 > 0:13:42as 50,000 in one metre square.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Multiply this by the total area of reef, 77 metres square, equals
0:13:46 > 0:13:53a rough estimate of 3,850,000 worms, all living in one amazing reef.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So have you found, by doing this survey over time, that there
0:13:57 > 0:14:01have been more of them or less of them? Have they changed at all?
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Since in about the last year, we have seen the reef expand,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10about 20 to 30% in size. It can grow very quickly.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14By doing this, and mapping year on year, season on season,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16we can see how the reef expands or contracts.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21So things are looking OK here in North Wales at the moment,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24probably thanks to this pair keeping an eye on them.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27But the honeycomb reefs are at a constant threat of storm damage,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30cold weather, and human feet trampling on them.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37It may not be as exotic as the Great Barrier Reef, but these
0:14:37 > 0:14:42amazing sand tunnels stuck together by biological cement, by the tiny
0:14:42 > 0:14:46honeycomb worm, are hugely important to the biodiversity on our coast.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55The ash dieback epidemic that swept through mainland Europe is here.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And there's no way of stopping this deadly fungus,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Chalara fraxinea, from spreading throughout the UK.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06So if we can't save our treasured ash, does it mean it will go
0:15:06 > 0:15:11the same way as elm in the 1970s and become a rural rarity?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16The Woodland Trust has other ideas.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19It's recently planted thousands of young trees at Pound Farm
0:15:19 > 0:15:23in Suffolk, right in the firing line of the disease.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27In the wood over there are thousands of infected trees.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31In fact, it was one of the first places where ash dieback was seen.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34So, with the wind blowing as it is, from there to here,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38it won't be long before infection is rife in this field.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42So, we can expect these young saplings to soon
0:15:42 > 0:15:44succumb to the disease.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50So why plant healthy saplings right next door to an infected wood?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53According to the Woodland Trust's Austin Brady, there is
0:15:53 > 0:15:56method in this madness.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58So this is one of your sacrificial ash, is it?
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Yes, if we take the vole guard off this young ash tree,
0:16:01 > 0:16:07you can see this is one of 25,000 trees we have planted on two fields
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and there are 11 different provenances of ash
0:16:09 > 0:16:12from all over the UK. We have deliberately brought them back here
0:16:12 > 0:16:15where we know the disease is present, to try and find out
0:16:15 > 0:16:18which of these varieties is going to be resistant to ash disease.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22It seems almost cruel, to put them in harm's way like this,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26- deliberately to expose them to a deadly fungus?- Exactly.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29But what we know is from experience on the Continent, maybe two
0:16:29 > 0:16:33or 5% of trees have natural resistance to ash disease.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36What we're trying to do is speed up that process and find out
0:16:36 > 0:16:39as quickly as possible which of the UK's ash trees might be resistant.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43What the Woodland Trust is doing may be a radical step,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47but its plans are to find replacement trees,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49not a cure for ash dieback.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54One thing that strikes me is this is still a sort of...it is a post-apocalyptic solution.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It's not going to save existing ash trees, is it?
0:16:56 > 0:16:59You are exactly right. We are going to lose a lot of ash trees
0:16:59 > 0:17:01but we don't want to just stand by and watch that happen.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05We are doing what we can to try and breed some resistant trees
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- for the future. - The scale of the task is huge.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09130 million ash trees across the country.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Are we seriously talking about potentially replanting that number?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15I think in some woods, if the ash disappears, there will
0:17:15 > 0:17:18still be a woodland and some of those woods will recover.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20In other parts of the country, the impact could be more serious,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23where ash is a dominant part of those woods and they are the
0:17:23 > 0:17:26areas where we really need to think about a different kind of response.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30If the disease is as serious as we think, we are unlikely to ever
0:17:30 > 0:17:32replicate exactly what was there before in terms of ash?
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The woodlands will evolve. There will still be ash but less?
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Exactly, but woodlands evolve and change, you know,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40life and death in the forest is part of the whole process.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Just what's happening here
0:17:42 > 0:17:46is something which is a bit too quick and a bit too sudden.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48This isn't the only plantation of its kind.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Hand-in-hand with landowners and charities,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53the Government has planted a quarter of a million trees
0:17:53 > 0:17:54across the south-east,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58simply to see which ones can survive the onslaught.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02And that means standing back and watching possibly
0:18:02 > 0:18:07hundreds of thousands of young trees being martyred to the cause.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13While here they're letting nature take its course, there are those
0:18:13 > 0:18:15using a more technical approach
0:18:15 > 0:18:18to finding a tree with natural immunity.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19The basis for this work
0:18:19 > 0:18:24can be traced back to one miraculous tree in Denmark.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The story starts just under 100 years ago
0:18:27 > 0:18:30on the Danish island of Zealand.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34In the 1920s, Danish foresters started selectively breeding ash
0:18:34 > 0:18:40for good timber. And they came across this in the forest, tree 35.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44They were so impressed by its strong form, that they decided to
0:18:44 > 0:18:46clone it along with 38 others
0:18:46 > 0:18:49to make sure they had good wood supplies.
0:18:52 > 0:18:5580 years later, in the middle of the last decade,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57ash dieback hit Denmark.
0:18:57 > 0:19:0190% of the country's ash trees were killed or badly damaged.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Among them, the 39 selectively-bred clones.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Except, that is, for tree 35,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12which stood tall amongst all the devastation.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17There seemed to be something in the genetic make-up of tree 35
0:19:17 > 0:19:21which made it able to withstand the full force of ash dieback.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Now, this remarkable tree has led to a scientific
0:19:27 > 0:19:30breakthrough in the fight against the disease.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32At these laboratories in Norwich,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35just a few miles from the epicentre of last year's outbreak,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40scientists have managed to decode tree 35's resistant DNA.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43So this is how you unlock
0:19:43 > 0:19:46the genetic secrets of the resistant ash?
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Yes, the first step is to get some ash leaves which are frozen in here.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56What I'm going to do is take a small amount of this ash material.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I'm going to put it into one of these tubes here
0:19:58 > 0:20:00so that we can break it up.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The John Innes Centre is part of a multi-million pound
0:20:05 > 0:20:09international project working to create a formula for a super-tree
0:20:09 > 0:20:12for the future, based on tree 35.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19The project's head, Professor Allan Downie, is showing me how it's done.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- OK, so, I'm making a sort of ash soup.- Just drop it in.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27And then you'll find a pair of long forceps there
0:20:27 > 0:20:30that you can pick it back out again with.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34The liquid nitrogen freezes the ash leaf soup
0:20:34 > 0:20:37so it can be pulverised into tiny pieces.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- It's like a rather aggressive microwave!- It is a bit!
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So, now that leaf which was a leaf material, it's now a powder,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46and what we're now going to do is add a little bit of liquid
0:20:46 > 0:20:49to dissolve the DNA.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53The DNA is broken down further and purified before technicians
0:20:53 > 0:20:56at the Genome Analysis Centre set about the critical
0:20:56 > 0:21:01task of sequencing the billions of strands of DNA on a computer.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05This incredible and complicated process has allowed scientists
0:21:05 > 0:21:11to crack tree 35's DNA code, the first step in creating
0:21:11 > 0:21:14an ash tree from scratch that can live with the disease.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20We're the first to see these results.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22What is on here that is so important, so critical?
0:21:22 > 0:21:25We have all of the genomic information from the tolerant tree,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29tree 35, on this chip, so all of the DNA sequence is here.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32And we did it really quickly. We want to move things forward
0:21:32 > 0:21:37and try to understand the genetics of the inheritance of tolerance,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and this is the first step that allows us to build a map
0:21:40 > 0:21:45and get an idea of why this tree has tolerance to the fungus.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48This has been a very high profile potential environmental
0:21:48 > 0:21:51disaster for Britain. We've seen huge coverage on this story.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55How does it feel to be maybe part of that solution?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57It would be wonderful to be part of the solution,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01but the problem is enormous, and really, it would be absolutely
0:22:01 > 0:22:04fantastic, but it is going to take a long period of time
0:22:04 > 0:22:06and the breeding is going to take time.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09For you at the moment, do you think the best chance is breeding up
0:22:09 > 0:22:11new resistant or tolerant, as you would have it,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14trees rather than trying to protect the ones that are there?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Certainly, for the large population of
0:22:16 > 0:22:20ash in Woodlands, I think if we could breed for tolerance,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and identify trees that can live with the fungus,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27then that would help greatly, and what we're trying to do here is
0:22:27 > 0:22:31trying to give nature a bit of a helping hand by identifying the
0:22:31 > 0:22:36right kinds of trees to take forward and do the appropriate crosses.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Whether it's the natural immunity of the Woodland Trust saplings
0:22:42 > 0:22:44or a synthetically produced super-tree,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47we may be able to fill the inevitable holes that are going to
0:22:47 > 0:22:50appear in our countryside with something stronger.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58What should be a proud procession of ash is becoming a slow death march.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01And there's little doubt that a similar fate awaits
0:23:01 > 0:23:04many of our ash trees across Britain.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06But there is a glimmer of hope.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09The ingenuity of our conservationists
0:23:09 > 0:23:12and genetic scientists is speeding the arrival of
0:23:12 > 0:23:16a new generation of ash trees which will show the fungus who's boss.