Somatic embryogenesis in Siberian larch plant production

Climate change poses a challenge to the well-being of our forests by increasing the prevalence of destructive insects such as bark beetles, pathogens, and drought. Spruce trees are expected to suffer particularly badly from the effects of climate change. Increasing the proportion of mixed forest and less commonly used tree species will improve adaptation to climate change and, at the same time, enhance forest biodiversity.

Last year, the popularity of spruce seedlings declined, and there is now demand for seedlings of other tree species, such as larch. However, larch seed and seedling production has been unable to meet demand due to uncertainty surrounding larch flowering and seed development. In addition, there are only a few larch seed orchards.

Luke has strong expertise in the somatic embryogenesis of coniferous trees. In the JTF project "Special forms and new species for somatic embryogenesis - EriSE” we succeeded in applying embryo culture technology to larch and stored embryogenic cell lines in liquid nitrogen. In this project, we aim to improve initiation frequency and increase the number of cell lines that can be registered in accordance with the wishes of the authorities (Finnish Food Authority). We are also investigating the pollen source of cell lines, i.e., the father tree, using genetic markers with a view to register forest reproductive material. We will utilize robotics in the development of mass production of larch forest reproductive material, thereby supporting the commercialization of somatic embryogenesis expertise by expanding product portfolio.