Biotechnology in the Southern Research Station: A Problem Analysis Forest Service general technical rept

摘要

We provide an analysis of opportunities and challenges for biotechnology in forest research in the southern United States. Four major areas of biotechnology were identified and described and then rated for priority among three groups of researchers-private sector, public sector, and the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station (SRS). The four areas of biotechnology were vegetative propagation, genetic transformation/modification, genomics/bioinformatics, and molecular marker applications. We concluded that these three groups have different research priorities with respect to biotechnology and that these differences complement each other. In particular, the SRS should continue its work in molecular marker technology development for applications in tree improvement, conservation genetics, forest health, and basic science. Also, the SRS should increase its efforts in genomics/bioinformatics while decreasing its research on vegetative propagation. Finally, the SRS should work on assessing the potential risks and impacts of planting and managing clones and/or genetically modified trees.