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 plant geneticist at the Australian National University, Dr Rod Peakall has been unable to find a single trace of any genetic variability. So far the genetic fingerprint of every Wollemi Pine has turned out to be bafflingly identical. What has most stunned Dr Peakall is that the two stands of the Wollemi Pine are two kilometres apart and separated by such rugged terrain that he says, in a report prepared for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, any genetic interchange is extremely unlikely.