Terrana Biosciences Emerges From Flagship Pioneering With $50M to Rewire Agriculture Using RNA

Courtesy: Terrana Biosciences

This week, biotech venture firm Flagship Pioneering launched its latest platform company, Terrana Biosciences, unveiling a novel approach to crop protection and resilience through the use of RNA-based technology. With an initial $50 million investment from Flagship, Terrana aims to equip farmers with non-genetically modified tools to prevent disease, protect yields, and enhance plant traits—all while adapting in real-time to an increasingly volatile climate.

Rather than editing plant genomes, Terrana’s platform leverages native-like RNA molecules that integrate directly into the plant’s existing biological systems. The platform can be used at any point in a plant’s lifecycle—sprayed during a specific season, or even after stress has already occurred—offering a degree of flexibility that conventional agriculture tools often lack.

“We’re not changing the DNA. We’re speaking the plant’s language,” said Ryan Rapp, Terrana’s co-founder and CEO. “With our RNA platform, we can activate traits or defense mechanisms on demand, during the growing season, in response to actual conditions in the field—not just projections months in advance.”

The implications of that adaptability are profound. Rapp points to cherry orchards in the Pacific Northwest as a compelling example. These trees require a certain number of “chill hours”—hours spent below 45°F in winter—to flower properly in spring. As winters warm, that chilling threshold is no longer consistently met, threatening orchard viability. Farmers today face bleak choices: relocate operations further north or replant orchards with entirely new genetics, both costly and time-consuming options.

“Neither of those is particularly great,” said Rapp. “But we know which genes are involved in how cold is perceived by these trees. With Terrana, we could apply an RNA-based spray in summer that modifies the chill requirement. It’s like rewiring their expectations of winter—without touching the genome.”

It’s not just about cold tolerance. Terrana’s technology could also help heat-stressed crops in tropical zones or enable in-season disease resistance without synthetic chemicals. Already, the company has developed three categories of RNA-enabled solutions—what Rapp calls its “prevent, protect, and improve” pillars.

The “prevent” category functions like a programmable vaccine. RNA molecules train the plant’s immune system to recognize and fight off viruses it hasn’t yet encountered. This has been tested successfully in tomatoes. The “protect” platform is more reactive, deploying RNA-delivered peptides or proteins once a threat—such as a fungal infection—is already present. The “improve” arm of the platform focuses on delivering traits traditionally associated with genetic modification or intensive inputs, such as drought tolerance or pest resistance.

Unlike past RNA attempts in agriculture—typically messenger RNA or double-stranded RNAs that degrade on the surface of leaves—Terrana’s RNAs are designed for stability, plant mobility, and in some cases, heritability. They enter the plant through microscopic leaf openings or wounds and persist long enough to enact their designed function.

“In human health, RNA therapies have transformed what’s possible. We’re now bringing that same philosophy to agriculture,” said Ignacio Martinez, Flagship General Partner and Executive Chairman of Terrana. “And we’re doing it with precision, speed, and adaptability that aligns with the unpredictable nature of farming today.”

Terrana’s tech could eventually reduce the need for frequent pesticide applications. In Brazil, for example, soybean farmers may spray crops up to 16 times a season to manage fungal pathogens like Asian soybean rust. Rapp believes Terrana’s formulations could offer similar levels of protection with just one spray—an outcome that could significantly cut input costs and lessen environmental impacts.

To date, the platform has demonstrated proof-of-concept in tomatoes, corn, and soybeans and generated a pipeline of more than 15 products spanning specialty and row crops. The near-term focus, according to Rapp, will be scaling manufacturing, validating performance under diverse conditions, and navigating regulatory pathways.

Backed by Flagship’s playbook for bioplatform innovation, Terrana is not just another ag biotech startup—it’s a deliberate attempt to shift agriculture’s R&D model from a years-long, trial-based process to something far more agile. That shift, Rapp says, is essential in a world where climate instability and market volatility are making farming decisions more complex than ever.

“This isn’t just a new input,” he said. “It’s a new way to think about time, risk, and control in farming.”