Libertyville, Illinois
March 19, 2008
Valent BioSciences
Corporation (VBC) has signed a five-year collaborative
agreement with the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB) of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences to
study the role of abscisic acid (s-ABA) in crop stress
management and plant disease resistance.
The research and development initiative will seek to clarify the
mode of action of abscisic acid in disease resistance and to
generate further understanding of its physiological function in
plants. VBC and CIB believe this research will ultimately lead
to commercial applications that overcome crop stress due to
diseases and other factors.
“This collaboration combines the research strengths of the
Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
and the global research and commercial development expertise of
Valent BioSciences,” says Dr. Wu Ning, director of CIB.
Leadership in abscisic acid development
Abscisic acid – one of the five classes of plant growth
regulators naturally present in plants – regulates numerous
plant processes, including responses to stress conditions,
dormancy, maturation, abscission and growth.
“ABA plays a key role in plant growth and development, and our
laboratory is interested in studying the effects of s-ABA on
plant disease resistance,” Professor Tan Hong, key scientist at
CIB. “Our work shows effects of abscisic acid are dependent on
the plant pathogen system – both in expression of plant
diseases, as well as resistance.”
Valent BioSciences has significant experience with s-ABA as
well, investing substantial research and development resources,
and establishing a strong intellectual property position over
the past few years. “Given the significant progress on applied
research with s-ABA achieved by VBC and CIB, there is an
opportunity for s-ABA to be developed further for both
high-value and traditional row-crop agriculture,” says Michael
Donaldson, president and chief operating officer of Valent
BioSciences.
Plant frowth regulators, microbials for crop stress
management
Donaldson says the agreement is consistent with Valent
BioSciences’ overall strategy to develop biorational plant
growth regulators and microbial agents for crop stress
management. “There is increasing understanding of the need to
overcome both biotic and abiotic stress in agricultural
production,” Donaldson says. “While other companies are using
genetic modification to develop crop stress management
solutions, Valent BioSciences is developing solutions based on
biorational products for seed and plant applications.” This
includes existing commercial applications of
aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), which inhibits ethylene
biosynthesis, as well as applications of Myrothecium verrucaria
for plant root health.
Valent BioSciences Corporation, headquartered in Libertyville,
Illinois (USA), is a worldwide leader in the research,
development and commercialization of low-risk, environmentally
compatible technologies and products for the agricultural,
public health, forestry and household insecticide markets. For
more information on Valent BioSciences Corporation and its
products, please visit www.valentbiosciences.com.
Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), Chengdu, China, is a premier
institution within the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).CIB is
known for implementing the Knowledge Innovation Programme of the
CAS, which aims to promote the innovative capacity of its
affiliated research institutes through key input in human
resources and research funds. CAS has significant
accomplishments in the area of plant science research and
environmental microbiology.
Other news
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