Yissum Signs Licensing Agreement with Dow AgroFresh for a Novel Water-Soluble Compound that Antagonizes the Action of the Plant Hormone Ethylene

Yissum, the research and development company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, North Carolina State University, Raleigh , N.C., and Dow DOW AgroFresh, a business unit of Rohm and Haas Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, signed a license agreement for the development and commercialization of a novel water-soluble ethylene-antagonist for agricultural applications. Ethylene is a gas that functions as a plant hormone. It is produced in all higher plants and is usually associated with stimulation of fruit ripening, leaf and fruit abscission, flower opening and flower and leaf senescence. Inhibition of the effects of ethylene may therefore prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, prolong the vase-life of cut flowers and more. Ethylene antagonists, compounds that inhibit its action, are routinely used for these purposes, mainly in closed systems, with the gaseous form of cyclopropene derivative, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), or with wettable powder form, that upon hydration in the field releases 1-MCP. However, existing solutions have very limited use in open spaces, such fields or greenhouses.