All living things possess a powerful intercellular protein balancing system. A critical regulator of protein homeostasis, this multicomponent system affects important operations—cell growth and differentiation, DNA replication and repair, apoptosis, and stress and immune responses. At Oerth we’ve dedicated ourselves to understanding this process thoroughly.
PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) compounds are chimeric, modular small molecules designed to induce the modulation of specific proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Each region of the PROTAC molecule plays a role in its specificity and potency, making it tunable for a variety of applications, and capable of addressing a host of plant health issues.
At the heart of Oerth Bio’s technology is a natural system within plants and other living organisms, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), that controls protein homeostasis. This system modulates the quantity of proteins and enzymes inside cells, ensuring proper cellular function and harmony. In nature, plants utilize this process to facilitate changes at a cellular level, allowing them to respond to and tolerate different growing conditions. There is increasing evidence that the UPS is also an integral part of plant adaptation to environmental stress, such as drought, salinity, cold, nutrient deprivation and pathogens.
We are harnessing this natural process with PROTAC targeted protein modulators – a natural and sustainable way of enabling plants to adapt to stressors. This allows us to tackle tough and longstanding issues such as drought, climate factors like heat, disease, soil quality, and encroachment by a growing population of resistant yield-impacting weeds.
