NationStates Jolt Archive

A new species of shrub is becoming a constant problem. It attaches to imported plants, especially trees. This shrub, known as the is spinebrush killing trees and crops. Forest populations are dying... native plants are becoming threatened. The Comcastian Secretary of Shrubbery Jane Warf has this to say:
"I know my shrubs, but this one seems to be powerful. Buring just causes the roots to spread out; the plant grows back to fast. Uprooting it doesn't help much. We've tried poisons and many other things. This threat is growing much larger each day."
The plant is quickly spreading through your nation. You've tried these techniques. Your nation must deal with problem. How do you do it?

OOC: Keaton nice!

IC: We'd freeze that bitch! Either that or send it up into space. This highly resembles Acigoo. God we hated that stuff.

OOC:

Long-term plan - specific engineered disease.
Short-term - burn vegetation around affected areas, chemically deplete nutrients.

"We would examine the new shrub, first of all, and contact the relevant state to gain information regarding its normal existance in its native land. Then, following due examination, we would genetically engineer the shrubs to a degree.

"The main goals behind the re-engineering would be to disenhance the reproductive capacity of the organism; possibly the introduction of genes from season-specific plants, or, if not applicable, the introduction of suicide limiters. This would involve each plant releasing a chemical - established to be non-harmful - on a constant basis. The organism would be engineered to react to this chemical in significant quantities; if the chemical builds up in a specific area, the cells in the plant, by stimulus, would suicide. This would prevent the organism from spreading too greatly, and limit it to small-scale colonization of existing plants.

"This phase completed, then, we would introduce - carefully - symbiotic organisms, engineered from pre-existing organisms, to establish a more beneficial link between host plants and the parasite. Thus we would integrate the new organism into our ecosystem, possibly to the eventual benefit of the ecosystem itself."

~ Imperial Horticultural Guild

[EDIT - Uh, shrub, not 'shrug'. Heh.
EDIT2 - Oops. Ecosystem, not ecology.]

A) Specifically Engineered Genetic Disease.
B) Genetically modify the national animal to be able to feed upon it.

I like your ideas... our scienetists are already working on a disease.. i'll let you know when it's ready.

OOC:

Sorry, I seemed to have misread the first post - I thought we'd all been affected. Original comment:

Ma-tek,

Your idea is wonderful; unfortunately we do not have the technology to manipulate the genes of the plant in the short timeframe available to us. Once a suitable genetic alteration is available a virus sprayed on it and surrounding plants, targetting the spinebrush specifically. Until then, we have seen some success using plant virii with particularly low possibilities of contagion, followed by burning, and also limited destruction of surrounding foliage followed by chemical depletion of soil to prevent spreading - unfortunatly, these solutions will throw up woeful consequences for years to come.

The disease iss complete. It attacks the celluar wall of the shrub, weaking it causing the plant. Comcastia is willing to share the disease with other nations, but we need funds. Who is willing to sponsor Comcastia's sciencetists?