Biotech venture creator Flagship Pioneering (noted for founding Moderna) has unveiled Terrana Biosciences, a new company leveraging RNA technology to deliver sustainable agricultural solutions. Backed by an initial $50 million from Flagship, Terrana has spent four years developing a proprietary RNA-based platform that can impart adaptive traits to crops without altering their DNA.

The approach uses advanced computational biology and a vast library of natural plant RNAs to ‘program’ crops for resilience — for example, to resist diseases, pests or climate stress — at any point in the plant’s life cycle. Terrana has already demonstrated proof of concept in tomatoes, corn, and soybeans, and has over 15 potential products in its R&D pipeline. By essentially speaking the plant’s molecular language, these solutions avoid the lengthy timelines and environmental trade-offs of conventional GMOs or chemical pesticides.

Terrana’s first targets include crop protection sprays and trait enhancers that could help farmers combat emerging threats and boost yields in a climate-challenged world.