Molecular and Pathological Factors involved in Sustainable Wood Quality

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Generally speaking, a tree produces sustainable wood under physiologically normal condition. When a tree is physiologically apart far from the normal condition, it may produce disordered wood. In other words, biotic and abiotic stresses disturb "sustainable" wood quality. Various genetic factors are involved in the process, or normal "sustainable" wood formation. Among the stress factors, we focused on anti-fungal and cold tolerant genes. Against the biotic stress, stilbene synthases have characterized by using heterologous expression after the cDNA cloning. Against the abiotic stress, dehydrin has cloned, being characterized by physiological, transgenic, and molecular studies. We have presented a reliable molecular basis on the "sustainable" wood quality or wood formation, in relation to anti-fungal and cold torelant factors.In vitro culture system makes complex abiotic analyses rather simple. Here, the effect of abiotic stress, especially temperature and a heavy metal, had examined. The culture system responded to produce secondary metabolites, especially catechins, in order to keep physiologically normal condition as far as possible. Furthermore, the secondary metabolites played an important role for scavenging active oxygen and detoxification of Mn ions.The field surveys on the health of conifer plantations were made covering wide area from the subarctic to temperate zones. In addition to microscopic analysis of wood specimens, physiological aspects were checked in diseased trees, for instance with acoustic emission technique (AE). The results indicated that the water conductivity of sapwood is most important to keep trees healthy.Altogether, the studies have revealed molecular and pathological bases in forest health and healthiness in the wood quality, or sustainable wood quality.