ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,297,441, issued on May 13, was assigned to Pairwise Plants Services Inc. (Durham, N.C.).

"Methods and compositions for modifying endocarp structure in Rubus plants" was invented by Brian Charles Wilding Crawford (Cary, N.C.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "This invention relates to compositions and methods for producing Rubus plants exhibiting a phenotype of reduced endocarp lignification and reduced seediness or a reduced feel of seediness phenotypes through modification of endogenous NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR1 (NST1) nucleic acids and endogenous NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR3 (NST3) nucleic acids. Th...