Seedless Blackberries and Cherries That Grow on Bushes Vie to Be the Future of Food

In a North Carolina startup called Pairwise, a team of scientists is utilizing Crispr gene-editing technology to create seedless, thornless, and higher-yielding blackberry plants. This innovative approach aims to expedite the typically slow and laborious process of crop breeding. While the first Crispr product from Pairwise, less bitter mustard greens, debuted in the US in 2023, it was later discontinued in favor of developing other gene-edited crops.

Currently, Pairwise holds regulatory approvals for five edited crops across nine countries, but only one product, a high-yielding blackberry variety, is commercially available in Colombia.

The technology behind Crispr promises to revolutionize agriculture by providing speed, precision, and the ability to address multiple challenges simultaneously. Pairwise believes that their seedless blackberries and other engineered crops could spark a new agricultural revolution, offering designer foods optimized for consumer, farmer, and environmental benefits.

The company is also working on peaches without pits, row crops resistant to diseases, fruit and nut trees with shorter growth cycles, and an array of other novel products in collaboration with major agribusinesses.

With partnerships in place with industry giants such as Bayer, Corteva, Mars, and Sun World, as well as collaboration with universities and research institutions, Pairwise has garnered over $160 million in funding. The company sees potential in Crispr technology to develop crops that are more productive, require less land, and have lower environmental impacts, all while addressing the pressing need for increased food production to feed a growing global population.