No abstract

Over the last decade, the production of transgenic conifers, including spruces, has been greatly facilitated by the advancement in somatic embryogenesis whereby embryogenic tissue is transformed through co‐cultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens or DNA‐coated microprojectiles. This has facilitated mass propagation of transgenic plants and the development of robust protocols for the genetic transformation of spruce providing, for the first time, the magnitude‐of‐scale required for implementing functional genomics studies in conifers. Presently, forest genomics research focuses on the identification and characterization of gene function that control major traits and attributes in forest trees. Functional genomic research has provided a greater understanding of the roles of specific genes in trees that will lead to the development of selection tools to accurately identify elite trees, which is particularly important in forestry where tree breeding cycles are very long. In this chapter, we first briefly review the biology of the genus Picea and subsequently expose practical aspects of conventional breeding. We then examine technical issues related to genetic engineering. Finally, we discuss the biosafety issues and considerations related to the deployment of transgenic trees.