WUR to improve the quality of potato starch with DOW's EXZACT™ Precision Technology

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 center) 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 toolkit 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 potato, 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.

“Wageningen UR is a world leader in potato genetic research and breeding” said Kay Kuenker, Dow AgroSciences Vice President for New Business. “By combining our EXZACT™ Precision Technology with Wageningen UR’s expertise and plant breeding activities, we have an opportunity to create significant value and bring innovation to the agricultural market.”

“This agreement with Dow AgroSciences will enhance the ongoing work and expertise at Wageningen UR.  We are thrilled to work with Dow AgroSciences and share this exciting new technology,” said Richard Visser, Professor in Plant Breeding at Wageningen University, whose team is leading the effort with Dow AgroSciences’ EXZACT™ Scientific Leader Vipula Shukla, Ph.D.

Additional terms of the research agreement were not disclosed.