Frequently Asked Questions

Pairwise develops new and improved crops with gene editing. Using its Fulcrum® Platform, the team designs targeted edits that bring useful traits into plants, from better yield and easier harvest to new consumer products like seedless blackberries.

Pairwise is a plant genetics company using CRISPR gene editing to develop new and improved crops. Through its Fulcrum® Platform, Pairwise works to introduce useful traits into plants more precisely and efficiently, with applications across food and agriculture.

Pairwise works with partners across the value chain, from global seed companies like Bayer and Corteva to nonprofit and academic institutions. Together they develop traits that make crops more productive, more resilient and more appealing to consumers.

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CRISPR is a gene editing technology that lets scientists make precise, targeted changes to a plant's own DNA. In agriculture, it helps develop crops with improved traits much faster than traditional breeding.

CRISPR uses a guide molecule to find a specific location in a plant's genome and an enzyme to make a small, precise change there. The plant's natural repair process then completes the edit, resulting in the desired trait.

In agriculture, CRISPR is used to improve traits such as yield, plant architecture, flowering time and disease tolerance, as well as consumer traits like flavor, nutrition and convenience.

No. Pairwise's gene editing makes precise changes within a plant's own genome, without adding foreign DNA from other species. This allows Pairwise to develop new traits without creating GMOs.

CRISPR can shorten trait development from more than 15 years with traditional breeding to a much faster timeline. It helps create crops that are more productive, more resilient and easier to grow and harvest.

Yes. Gene editing can help crops cope with less predictable growing conditions, for example through short-stature corn that is better protected against crop loss from extreme winds and severe weather.

Yes. Pairwise has used gene editing to remove the typical pungency from mustard greens and to develop consistently sweet, seedless blackberries, making food more enjoyable to eat.

Traits such as seedless and pitless fruit, longer seasons and more efficient harvesting can help reduce waste across the food chain, from the field to processing and the consumer's kitchen.

Gene-edited crops are developed and tested through regulatory processes that evaluate their safety. Pairwise's leafy greens were the first CRISPR food available in North America.

Pairwise identifies the right gene for a target trait, then develops and tests a range of edits across different genetic backgrounds. What it learns in one crop, like blackberry, is applied to the next, like cherry and peach.

CRISPR is the gene editing technology at the core of the Fulcrum® Platform. It lets Pairwise make precise, targeted changes to a plant's own DNA to unlock new traits.

The Fulcrum® Platform combines Pairwise-developed gene editing tools, artificial intelligence and a library of traits and expertise. Together they guide where and how to edit a plant to reach the desired trait.

Through the Fulcrum® Platform, Pairwise and its partners develop traits for yield, flowering, plant architecture and seedless or pitless fruit across both specialty and large-acre crops.

No. The Fulcrum® Platform makes precise edits within a plant's own genome, without introducing foreign DNA, so the resulting crops are not GMOs.

The Fulcrum® Platform can compress trait development from more than 15 years to months, bringing validated, high-performing traits to partners at unprecedented speed.

Yes. Traits developed on the Fulcrum® Platform, such as short-stature corn and improved disease tolerance, help crops perform under increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.

Yes. The Fulcrum® Platform has been used to create consumer-focused products such as consistently sweet seedless blackberries and nutrient-dense leafy greens without the typical pungency.

Traits like seedless and pitless fruit and more efficient harvesting, developed on the Fulcrum® Platform, can reduce waste in processing and make fruit easier to enjoy.

Products developed with the Fulcrum® Platform go through the same regulatory review as other gene-edited foods, which evaluates their safety before they reach consumers.

Pairwise uses the Fulcrum® Platform in a structured, iterative process: evaluate the market, analyze the trait mechanism, create prototypes, choose the final variation, then apply the learning to the next crop.

Pairwise develops differentiated traits for growers, packer-shippers, food brands and consumers. Current products, available or in development, include seedless blackberries, compact blackberries, a pitless cherry and nutrient-dense leafy greens.

It is a first-year fruiting blackberry with no seeds, no thorns, a compact stature and consistent sweetness. A compact variety is also in development, with a stature that triples plant density per acre and improves harvest efficiency.

The pitless cherry delivers the bold, juicy flavor of a cherry without the pit, for a more convenient eating experience. It builds on the seedlessness trait first developed in blackberry, which can also be explored in other stone fruit such as peach.

Pairwise's leafy greens were the first CRISPR food in North America. They originate from mustard greens, but without the typical pungency, and offer up to twice the nutrition of romaine lettuce, which makes them well suited for salads.