Fighting Pests, Disease, and Climate Change: The Role of Biotechnology in European Chestnut Improvement

European chestnut is an agroforest species of great ecological, economic, and cultural importance in many temperate regions. However, in recent decades, it has been seri-ously threatened by various factors, including devastating diseases such as chestnut blight and ink disease, as well as the impacts of climate change. In this context, bio-technological tools have emerged as a key alternative for the protection, improvement, and sustainable use of the species. This paper analyzes the main biotechnological strategies applied to European chestnut. First, classical and assisted breeding tech-niques are discussed, including controlled hybridization and the use of molecular markers to accelerate the selection of genotypes of interest. In the field of molecular biotechnology, studies related to the identification of key genes, the development of genetic markers (SSR, SNP), and the omics characterization of chestnut are reviewed. The use of micropropagation techniques for the clonal multiplication of elite individu-als is also included. Furthermore, advances in genetic modifications are explored, highlighting the introduction of resistance genes through transgenic and cisgenic ap-proaches, as well as emerging technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9. Finally, future per-spectives for the application of biotechnology in the recovery, improvement, and sus-tainability of chestnut in the face of current and future threats are presented.