biology

SmartStax

SmartStax is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SmartStax rather than just read about it. In short: SmartStax is a brand of genetically modified seed made through a collaboration between Monsanto Company and Dow Chemical Company. It takes advantage of multiple modes of insect protection and herbicide tolerance.

Key takeaways

SmartStax belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SmartStax to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SmartStax from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SmartStax is a brand of genetically modified seed made through a collaboration between Monsanto Company and Dow Chemical Company. It takes advantage of multiple modes of insect protection and herbicide tolerance. SmartStax takes advantage of Yieldgard VT Triple (Monsanto), Herculex Xtra (Dow), RoundUp Ready 2 (Monsanto), and Liberty Link (Dow). The traits included protect against above-ground insects, below-ground insects, and provide broad herbicide tolerance. It is currently available for corn, but cotton, soybean, and specialty crop variations are to be released. Previously, the most genes artificially added to a single plant was three, but Smartstax includes eight. Smartstax also incorporates Monsanto's Acceleron Seed Treatment System which protects against insects at the earliest stages of development. Smartstax is sold under the Genuity (Monsanto) and Mycogen (Dow) brands.

Insect Spectrum SmartStax seeds control a broad spectrum of pests which includes larvae of above-ground insects such as European corn borer, black cutworm, southwestern corn borer, corn earworm, fall armyworm, western bean cutworm, and below-ground feeding larvae of western corn rootworm and northern corn rootworm.

Refuge acres To prevent or delay insect resistance, growers plant a refuge on their farm. This is an area of non-GM plants where insect can live. These insect will not evolve resistance to GM technology. These refuge acres ensure that rare resistant insects that feed on insect-protected varieties of corn will mate with susceptible insects and slow the development of resistance.

Promotion and branding Smartstax corn has been advertised and promoted on television, at farm trade shows, and online as Monsanto has geared up for widespread commercial release. Smartstax is sold under the Genuity Brand by Monsanto and the Mycogen brand by Dow, but both companies have the right to sell it under as many names with as many additional technologies as they wish.

Weed and insect resistance Recently, rapid emergence of weeds thought to be resistant to Roundup have been observed. Horseweed, giant ragweed and pigweed, among others have been found growing with crops across the United States. Insects including corn rootworm and bollworm have also begun showing signs of resistance. In response, Monsanto has continued to develop new products. The USDA approves use of Bt crops. Monsanto has denied there is a problem with their product.

Transgenic events, genes, and traits SmartStax is bred from the products of four transgenic incorporation events MON89034, TC1507, MON88017, DAS59122-7, producing traits phosphinothricin acetyltransferase, CP4 EPSPS, Cry1Fa2, Cry1A.105, Cry2Ab, Cry3Bb1, Cry34Ab1, and Cry35Ab1.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SmartStax

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SmartStax claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SmartStax before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SmartStax ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SmartStax

In research: SmartStax appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SmartStax in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SmartStax is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dow Chemical Company, Genetically modified organisms in agriculture, Joint ventures, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SmartStax outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SmartStax in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SmartStax means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SmartStax out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SmartStax in simple terms?

Why does SmartStax matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SmartStax?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SmartStax.