title: Sandalwood: basic biology, tissue culture, and genetic transformation.
abstract: Sustainable resource preservation of Santalum species that yield commercially important forest products is needed. This review provides an understanding of their basic biology, propagation, hemi-parasitic nature, reproductive biology, and biotechnology. Many species of the genus Santalum (Santalaceae) have been exploited unremittingly for centuries, resulting in the extinction of one and the threatened status of three other species. This reduction in biodiversity of sandalwood has resulted from the commercial exploitation of its oil-rich fragrant heartwood. In a bid to conserve the remaining germplasm, biotechnology provides a feasible, and effective, means of propagating members of this genus. This review provides a detailed understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying the success or failure of traditional propagation, including a synopsis of the process of hemi-parasitism in S. album, and of the suitability of host plants to sustain the growth of seedlings and plants under forestry production. For the mass production of economically important metabolites, and to improve uniformity of essential oils, the use of clonal material of similar genetic background for cultivation is important. This review summarizes traditional methods of sandalwood production with complementary and more advanced in vitro technologies to provide a basis for researchers, conservationists and industry to implement sustainable programs of research and development for this revered genus.
authors.affiliation: , P. O. Box 7, Miki-cho Post Office, 3011-2, Ikenobe, Kagawa-ken, 761-0799, Japan. jaimetex@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jaime A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Teixeira da Silva
authors.affiliation: B.R. Doshi School of Biosciences, Sardar Patel University, Sardar Patel Maidan, Vadtal Rd., P.O. Box 39, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, 388120, India. mafatlalmkher@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mafatlal M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kher
authors.affiliation: B.R. Doshi School of Biosciences, Sardar Patel University, Sardar Patel Maidan, Vadtal Rd., P.O. Box 39, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, 388120, India. deepaksoner@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soner
authors.affiliation: Forests and People Research Centre, University of Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Locked Bag 4, Sunshine Coast, QLD, 4558, Australia. tpage@usc.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China. xhzhang@scib.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: B.R. Doshi School of Biosciences, Sardar Patel University, Sardar Patel Maidan, Vadtal Rd., P.O. Box 39, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, 388120, India. mnatarajspu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nataraj
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China. magh@scib.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods; D058507:Host Specificity; D058439:Plant Somatic Embryogenesis Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D032123:Santalum / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development; D060436:Self-Incompatibility in Flowering Plants; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*
keywords: In vitro; Micropropagation; Santalum album; Santalum spicatum; Somatic embryogenesis; Tissue culture