Mutations in DNA allow one individual to gain an advantage over another, a process thought to be fundamental to the health of a species. Variability is also the basis of Darwin's theory of natural selection. Low genetic variability has always been regarded by scientists as a fast track to extinction. This is a basic rule of genetic theory and one which the Wollemi pine, a new member of an ancient family called the Araucariaceae , does not seem to be obeying. The trees also appear to be cloning themselves by sending out roots which break through the surface and eventually become adults in their own right.
Clones have identical DNA, as do identical twins.
But if a pair of clones or a pair of twins reproduce, then their offspring will be genetically different. Wollemi pine seedlings, however, have identical DNA to the parent trees. After searching 1,000 points on the trees' genome, using the most sensitive DNA analysis equipment available, a plant geneticist at the Australian National University, Dr Rod Peakall, has been unable to find a single trace of any genetic variability. He has searched the DNA of Wollemi pines from the two known stands, both in a single canyon system in the Wollemi Wilderness, and from seedlings. So far the genetic fingerprint of every Wollemi pine has turned out to be bafflingly identical.