Time is money in the highly regulated world of agricultural biotechnology, and the ability to quickly quantitate endogenous allergens is significant for developing new products. An agreement between Dow AgroSciences and EAG Laboratories enables progress in this area.
The non-exclusive license enables EAG to use Dow AgroSciences’ patented intellectual property that includes Plextein, a high throughput method for detecting and quantitating multiple proteins in plants. Historically, testing for food allergens in soybeans required a dozen different tests, while using Plextein allows researchers to determine the required regulatory allergen results in one analysis.
“The rapid quantitation of allergens in soybeans helps soybean product developers quickly and efficiently meet the increasing regulatory demands around the globe, which ultimately can help speed products getting into the hands of farmers,” says Tom Meade, Dow AgroSciences global seeds and traits discovery leader. “Plextein is highly effective in getting to the answers that are needed in terms of potential changes in allergen expression level.”
Dow AgroSciences invented Plextein to rapidly identify and quantify multiple proteins in plant samples. The technology is a high-throughput method using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to simultaneously measure plant-derived proteins of interest to companies and government regulatory agencies.
“EAG offers seed and trait developers the unique combination of biotechnology and protein characterization expertise, more than 50 years’ experience analyzing plant matrices, and significant LC/MS/MS horsepower,” says Chris Lively, EAG Laboratories senior director of biotechnology services. “Adding the Plextein platform to our offering will enable us to better leverage this know-how and bring our customers the latest advancements in plant protein analyses.”
