Different approaches for multi-transgene-stacking in plants

The introduction and expression of several transgenes is frequently required in either basic or applied studies in plant biotechnology. For instance, the expression of polygenic agronomic characteristics in plants or the manipulation of complex biosynthetic pathways requires introduction of multiple transgenes into the plant genome. Hence, full exploitation of the potential for manipulating plant metabolism awaits the development and adoption of methods for the routine introduction or manipulation of multiple transgenes. This review describes the generation of plants with multiple transgenes and summarizes our current understanding of the different approaches for obtaining these transgenic plants. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.