INDIANAPOLIS and WAGENINGEN, NETHERLANDS-Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), and the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen UR (University and Research centre), have entered into a research agreement to study how EXZACT Precision Technology can improve the starch quality of potato, a food and industrial crop of global importance.
Dow AgroSciences' EXZACT Precision Technology provides a versatile and comprehensive tool kit for targeted genome modification. Its demonstrated ability to specifically and efficiently add, edit or delete genes at targeted locations in plant genomes has made it the leading tool for precise engineering of multi-gene stacks, editing native gene sequences and targeted gene disruption in crops. This new research will extend those functionalities into potatoes-a crop that is difficult to breed using conventional methods.
Under the agreement, researchers at Wageningen UR in the Netherlands will study the effectiveness of using the EXZACT technology in tetraploid potato-a commonly grown crop that represents a major food and fiber source for millions of people worldwide. Dow AgroSciences is providing its technology as well as access to intellectual property, validated, high-quality zinc-finger reagents and scientific expertise.