Gene pyramiding

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Gene pyramiding is a plant-breeding approach that combines several beneficial genes into one variety. Breeders select and introduce multiple genes at the same time to improve traits and make them last longer. The main goals are to boost performance by combining complementary genes, fix gaps by bringing in new genes, and increase durability against pests or diseases. A well-known example is in rice (Oryza sativa), where pyramiding has created durable resistance to multiple strains of the rice blast fungus. When used with DNA markers to track the desired genes, it’s called Marker-Assisted Pyramiding and can speed up the process. Gene stacking is another way to combine genes, and pyramiding is one method to achieve it.