Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species

Woody trees are invaluable to ecosystems and economies, providing essential resources such as timber, fuel, food, and medicine. Trees also play a critical role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and soil stabilization, making their health and productivity vital in the face of global...

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Main Authors: Rohit Bharati, Lucie Severová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2025.1569384/full
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author Rohit Bharati
Lucie Severová
author_facet Rohit Bharati
Lucie Severová
author_sort Rohit Bharati
collection DOAJ
description Woody trees are invaluable to ecosystems and economies, providing essential resources such as timber, fuel, food, and medicine. Trees also play a critical role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and soil stabilization, making their health and productivity vital in the face of global environmental challenges. However, the changing climate and escalating threats from pests, diseases, and abiotic stresses pose significant risks to woody tree species, necessitating the development of sustainable approaches to enhance their growth and resilience. One promising strategy is artificial polyploidization, a biotechnological method that induces multiple complete sets of chromosomes, which has been successfully used in agriculture and horticulture to improve plant traits like growth and stress resistance. Despite its proven benefits in herbaceous and crop plants, polyploid induction remains underutilized in woody trees. It holds potential for enhancing both the ecological roles of woody trees, as well as their economically valuable characteristics. This mini-review explores the potential of polyploidy as a sustainable tool to boost growth and stress resilience in woody species. The mini-review examines the potential challenges associated with polyploid induction in woody trees, including technical difficulties and knowledge gaps, while also providing future directions for research and application.
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spelling doaj-art-dcf61935dc704bbb84062ba7f1f2535f2025-08-20T03:47:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Forests and Global Change2624-893X2025-05-01810.3389/ffgc.2025.15693841569384Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree speciesRohit BharatiLucie SeverováWoody trees are invaluable to ecosystems and economies, providing essential resources such as timber, fuel, food, and medicine. Trees also play a critical role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and soil stabilization, making their health and productivity vital in the face of global environmental challenges. However, the changing climate and escalating threats from pests, diseases, and abiotic stresses pose significant risks to woody tree species, necessitating the development of sustainable approaches to enhance their growth and resilience. One promising strategy is artificial polyploidization, a biotechnological method that induces multiple complete sets of chromosomes, which has been successfully used in agriculture and horticulture to improve plant traits like growth and stress resistance. Despite its proven benefits in herbaceous and crop plants, polyploid induction remains underutilized in woody trees. It holds potential for enhancing both the ecological roles of woody trees, as well as their economically valuable characteristics. This mini-review explores the potential of polyploidy as a sustainable tool to boost growth and stress resilience in woody species. The mini-review examines the potential challenges associated with polyploid induction in woody trees, including technical difficulties and knowledge gaps, while also providing future directions for research and application.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2025.1569384/fullanti-mitotic agentschromosome doublingin vitropolyploid inductiontree breedingtree improvement
spellingShingle Rohit Bharati
Lucie Severová
Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
anti-mitotic agents
chromosome doubling
in vitro
polyploid induction
tree breeding
tree improvement
title Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
title_full Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
title_fullStr Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
title_full_unstemmed Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
title_short Artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
title_sort artificial polyploidy as a tool for improving growth and stress resilience in tree species
topic anti-mitotic agents
chromosome doubling
in vitro
polyploid induction
tree breeding
tree improvement
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2025.1569384/full
work_keys_str_mv AT rohitbharati artificialpolyploidyasatoolforimprovinggrowthandstressresilienceintreespecies
AT lucieseverova artificialpolyploidyasatoolforimprovinggrowthandstressresilienceintreespecies