High-resistance ToBRFV tomato variety progressing, seed companies say

NRGene and Philoseed are among seed companies reporting major progress toward widespread commercialization of a Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) high-resistance trait in tomatoes.

Tests on the ToBRFV-resistant tomato plants have been completed by several seed companies that licensed the high-resistant lines, according to a news release. Early adopters, both in Europe and the U.S., observed high levels of virus resistance in plants infected with local variants.

Furthermore, NRGene’s DNA markers (PCR-based) showed excellent correlation with the resistance trait, making them ideal for developing resistant tomato varieties, the release said. Based on the company’s experience, it is estimated that the implementation phase of the high-resistance trait will take up to 18 months.

NRGene's and Philoseed's customers that licensed the ToBRFV HR (high resistant) lines reported high levels of virus resistance, according to the release; customers’ validation is a major step towards widespread commercialization of the ToBRFV high-resistance trait.

NRGene and Philoseed announced in February 2022 that they had successfully mapped DNA regions in wild tomato plants that enhanced resistance to ToBRFV. To date, 10 seed breeding companies have licensed and incorporated the seeds harboring the resistance into their elite tomato varieties, the release said.

S.A.I.S Sementi, an Italian seed company, was among the first to validate the ToBRFV resistance trait.

“The ToBRFV resistance was confirmed using a variety of methods,” Franca Castagnoli, head of the research and development department at S.A.I.S Sementi, said in the release. “This resistance is unique from other sources and provides a great breeding opportunity for our pipeline. It is strongly correlated with the molecular markers and enables us to introduce it into the germplasm. NRGene’s lab support is comprehensive, contributing greatly to the success of this crucial project.”

Besides Europe, the highly contagious ToBRFV disease is spreading rapidly in Asia, Africa, parts of Mexico, and the U.S., threatening the tomato industry worldwide.

Following the validation results, NRGene is expanding the process of commercializing seeds harboring the trait, along with the supported markers, the release said. This is in addition to the commercial contracts already signed with seed companies in Israel, Europe and the U.S., according to the release.

“Seeing our customers gain high resistance to ToBRFV in tomatoes and progress fast towards commercializing novel elite varieties is the greatest reward for our efforts,” Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO, said in the release. “It is our hope that with the combined efforts of the whole seed industry, in several years, global damage from this virus will become marginal.”

To protect the novel high-resistance trait, the genetic markers and the tomato plants harboring them, Philoseed and NRGene filed several patent applications, the release said.

“Based on our field trials, we are highly confident about the potential of our resistance source,” Philoseed CEO Amit Schwarz said in the release. “With the additional development of the DNA markers with NRGene, we are sure that the implementation of the resistance in commercial varieties will be much more efficient, rapid and accurate.”

A white paper about progress toward resistant varieties is available online.