b"a complete solution that will likely ever replace traditional plant crosses or testing out in the field, but Hummel expects signifi-cant impacts to the rate of gain for breeding programs that can effectively integrate genome editing with their other operations.The regulatory landscape around the use of CRISPR in agriculture is still evolving. Recently, the European Commission proposed new legislation to allow for crops made with CRISPR to be classified as similar to conventionally bred varieties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency have rules in place that allow edited plants, that could otherwise be achieved through conventional breeding, exemp-tion from regulation.Seedless and SpecializedCRISPR has also allowed Pairwise to target traits that can be challenging for traditional crossbreeding. Beauregarde Pea in a HighA new pea in development There is a pretty extensive history with seedless crops.Tunnel at Norwich Meadowswhere the expression of color is The oldest ones Im aware of where grapes were discovered inFarm. modified through yet-to-be-ancient Turkey, and seedless watermelon has become the domi- discovered mechanisms.nant trait just within our lifetime so were trying to learn from that enthusiasm with seedless berries, Hummel says. He says seedless is not something that is easily created or dis- helped develop the Beauregarde Snow pea, a flat snap, purple-covered in traditional breeding but in cases where it has arisen,podded pea, as well as red,yellow, green and blush varieties. He its been very beneficial for human consumption. says its important to remember that plants arent playing withWere starting with germplasm and in the case of berries,color and flavor for the fun of it.its coming from our partner Plant Sciences Incorporated, butWith (Gregor) Mendels purple flower trait, we know it con-CRISPR allows us to add that in more easily, he says. fers stress resistance to the peas. So, using a white flower, youve Pairwise is targeting the second half of this decade for aturned off a lot of their anthocyanins, or flavonoids metabolism. seedless berry launch. Whenever plants are making these color or flavor chemicals, its Botanically speaking, its technically a pitless trait, but con- not with the intention to be a great new addition to our plate, sumers think of it as seedless. And then later on, were planninghe says. Much of how they contend with their environment is to leverage that knowledge to make a pitless cherry, Hummelthrough being these amazing biochemists and we think we're says. going to find some very interesting things.Flavor is another significant challenge in vegetable breeding,The key to us breeding this pea was looking beyond the and not just because it requires time for vegetables to ripen andsingle genes Mendel studied and using conventional plant experienced culinary techniques to test. Its also just very specificbreeding to optimize the tens of thousands of other genes in the to each persons palate. genome. Thats still super powerful.Flavor is basically the interaction of many small moleculesResearchers are also working to better understand specific and chemicals with our taste and smell senses and some of thosenutrient compositions and how to manipulated them, potentially molecules interact with each other and some are independent,affecting how certain fruits affect blood sugar. Researchers are and every persons perception is different as well, Hummel says.looking at the form of starch in some squash, for example.However, if you break taste down into subcomponents, some Sweet vegetables are still worlds apart from the 30+ grams are simpler to target. of sugar in drinks, but also, in general, we know well get more For example, the Myrosinase gene from the Brassica genusof a blood sugar spike from drinking orange juice than eating an that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sinigrin into mustard oil createsorange. That said, there are very few vegetables that are sugar that pungent horseradish flavor that exists in fresh mustardrush vegetables, Mazourek says with a laugh.green leaves, Hummel says. By gene editing, we disabledThough, with seed breeders on the case, perhaps anything is Myrosinase to create our Conscious Greens product,possible.Fruit and vegetables need to be convenient, snackable and Focused on the Future just taste good because we're competing with snack foods that Cornell researchers are also focused on studying more of thehave been highly designed to be all those things, Mazourek says. biochemistry behind flavor and how it interacts with the chemi- My goal starts with seeing if we can make something delicious, cal ecology of how plants adapt to their environment. Mazourekand if we can make it snackable as well; that's huge.SW30/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2024"