INDIANAPOLIS — Dow AgroSciences L.L.C. has signed a research and commercial license option agreement with Agrisoma Biosciences, Inc. that will provide Dow with access to Agrisoma’s proprietary Engineered Trait Loci (E.T.L.) technology on an exclusive basis in major food crops, and on a non-exclusive basis, in other crops.

The two companies have collaborated since 2004 in the area of high value protein production in plants and plant cell cultures.

"Dow AgroSciences’ strategic investment in Agrisoma’s E.T.L. technology will accelerate the creation of new and novel products in crop plants, such as increased levels and improved forms of healthier oils or other beneficial food components," said Dan Kittle, vice-president for R.&D. at Dow AgroSciences. "E.T.L. technology will be an important tool in our ‘toolbox’ to deliver differentiated solutions enabled by the expression of multiple genes or enhancements in complex biochemical pathways."

According to Dow, Agrisoma’s E.T.L. technology is a patent protected, broadly applicable technology that facilitates the placement of new traits in the native genome of a crop. The technology has been used to engineer oil composition, oil content and yield for the renewable energy market and E.T.L.-engineered crops are now undergoing a second year of field trials at multiple locations.

Steven Fabijanski, president and chief executive officer for Agrisoma, said he hopes the collaboration with Dow AgroSciences will lead to commercialization of the E.T.L. technology in major global food crops.

"The research collaboration with Dow AgroSciences complements our industrial crop program, which is focused on creating renewable feedstocks using dedicated bioenergy plants," Mr. Fabijanski said.