Biotech Stacks Adoption Continues to Increase Globally

The biotech method of gene stacking has brought us many notable products such as Golden Rice, Blue Rose, and SmartStax™. What is gene stacking and why is there a ‘stack boom' in the biotech crop market? What does the future hold for biotech stacks?

Gene stacking refers to the process of combining two or more genes of interest into a single plant. Gene pyramiding and multigene transfer are other monikers in the scientific literature referring to the same process. The combined traits resulting from this process are called stacked traits. A biotech crop variety that bears stacked traits is called a biotech stack or simply stack.

It is estimated that a total of 80.5 million ha were planted to biotech stacks in 2018. This accounts for more than 42 percent of the 191.7 million ha of biotech crops planted worldwide. The US Department of Agriculture estimated that 89 percent of cotton acres and 80 percent of corn acres were planted with stacked seeds in 2019.

Read more about Stacked Traits in Biotech Crops in ISAAA Pocket K No. 42. Other revised Pocket Ks include Bt Insect Resistance Technology, Herbicide Tolerance Technology, and Delayed Ripening Technology.