Application of Biotechnology in Forestry: Current Status and Future Perspective

Biotechnology provides important tools for the sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and can be of significant help in meeting an indispensable part in the rise of human civilization. It is indeed often considered as one of the fields of scientific research in which the most rapid advances have been made in recent years. It includes the unique roles and functions that trees, major structural constituents of forest ecosystems have, their special biological characteristics, and their importance in the provision of environmental, social and economic goods and services. Forest trees have unquestionably entered the genomic era. Biotechnological tools viz., transgenic technology, RNA interference, functional genomics, marker assisted selection, QTL and tissue culture etc. have paved road for successful exploitation and integration of scientific fields with an increased sense of urgency for delivery of cutting edge research in tree biotechnology, both in academia and industry. Advances and integration of such fields will have a great impact in many respects, and will continue to provide new information, thereby offering exciting prospects for future tree improvement programs worldwide.