OxO Enzyme Research Begins

In 2006, the team began test planting American chestnuts with oxalate oxidase (OxO). This enzyme chemically inactivates a toxin, oxalate, produced by the fungus. By removing the harmful oxalate, American chestnut trees with OxO are protected from the harmful effects of blight. Widespread among both food plants and wild organisms, OxO enzymes are naturally occurring in all grains, beets, spinach, switchgrass, mosses, and many types of bacteria and fungi. OxO does not directly harm the blight fungus; it simply breaks down oxalate, which reduces the pressure on the fungus to evolve resistance.