Major advancement in fight against ToBRFV

"Following years of intensive research and development efforts, TomaTech has succeeded in identifying DNA markers that elicit resistance to ToBRFV," says Ofer Ben Zvi, CEO of TomaTech. "This discovery will allow us to rapidly develop a complete portfolio of resistant tomato varieties for global introduction and will benefit the growers and the entire value chain, providing a consistent supply chain while lowering production costs.

TomaTech is currently in the process of filing for a provisional patent for identifying the DNA markers correlated to its resistant traits. TomaTech reports that this will accelerate the breeding and commercialization of high resistance non-GMO tomato varieties.

"The ability to find strong resistance as well as identify DNA markers, protecting our IP through submission of a provisional patent application, demonstrates TomaTech's capabilities to position itself at the front line in the research and breeding of the tomatoes varieties for the global market," says Favi Vidavski, President and Head of Research and Development at TomaTech.

The ToBRFV virus has wreaked havoc on indoor tomato production. It affects a broad spectrum of tomatoes, from sweet cherry lines to full-sized beefsteak tomatoes. The damages caused by the virus are estimated to have cost billions of dollars globally.

The outbreaks have overwhelmed greenhouses across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, while currently spreading to other regions.

"We developed an advanced [and] highly efficient screening system based on controlled inoculation and molecular technology where we continually tested tens of thousands of tomato plants under the most severe conditions," Vidavski says. "We reached a breakthrough a year ago with the discovery of specific DNA markers that proved instrumental in helping us isolate, identify, and introduce ToBRFV-resistant genes, which we bred into our principal commercial tomato varieties."

TomaTech reports its latest discovery can be applied to a range of tomato varieties across all segments. It can also be adapted to both heated and non-heated greenhouses.

Source and Photo Courtesy of Greenhouse Grower

Source: Greenhouse Grower