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364 Cha pte r T w e l v e

12.4 Conclusions
In increasing demand for wood products, bioenergy, and reduction of
available harvestable forests has recently led to the development of
genetic engineering into forest-tree research and improvement. Due
to the significant genetic transformation progress, future forest trees
will be more tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses, will express genes
for accelerated growth rate, and will have a modified wood structure
and composition. Selective genetic alterations to wood structure
and/or composition clarify the mechanical role of particular wood
features. Several advanced tools, especially nanotechnology-based
tools, have the potential to accelerate the characterization of trans-
genic trees.

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