FFAR » News » FFAR Grant Harnesses Wild Tomatoes to Combat Agriculture Threats

FFAR Grant Harnesses Wild Tomatoes to Combat Agriculture Threats

August 12, 2025

Ithaca, NY

Production Systems

Tomatoes are an important economic and nutritional crop, but they are vulnerable to stresses from extreme weather and disease, which puts food security and farmers’ profits at risk. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is providing a Seeding Solutions grant to fund a $2,063,835 collaborative project led by the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), in partnership with Meiogenix, to harness wild tomatoes’ genetic diversity to improve cultivated tomato varieties. The research is focusing on resistance to drought and early blight disease, two significant challenges facing tomato growers worldwide.

A single tomato genome doesn’t capture the full extent of genetic diversity. Our pangenome approach will help us identify structural variants – large DNA differences between wild and cultivated tomatoes – that are responsible for valuable traits.
Zhangjun Fei
Primary Investigator, Professor and Genomics Expert at BTI

The project combines advanced genomic technologies with pioneering breeding approaches. The team is screening hundreds of wild tomato species to identify those with exceptional drought tolerance or early blight resistance. BTI is constructing a pangenome – a comprehensive genetic map that captures all genetic variations across tomato species. Once identified, Meiogenix will apply its targeted recombination technology, which directs genetic recombination to specific genomic locations, to transfer the genetic variants supporting drought tolerance and blight resistance from wild tomatoes to cultivated tomatoes.

Traditional breeding with wild relatives is challenging because you bring many undesirable traits along with the beneficial ones. Our technology allows for more precise transfers of just the beneficial genetic variants, dramatically speeding up the breeding process.
Ricardo Garcia de Alba
CEO of Meiogenix

Enhancing drought tolerance in tomatoes will reduce water use, which is crucial for agriculture, as water scarcity affects approximately 80% of farmlands. Improved resistance to early blight will reduce reliance on chemical fungicides.

Research team group photo — Front: Dr. Magdalena Julkowska, assistant professor, Boyce Thompson Institute. Back (from left): Dr. Gaganpreet Sidhu, CTO, Meiogenix; Dr. Jim Giovannoni, BTI adjunct professor; Ricardo Garcia de Alba, CEO, Meiogenix; and Dr. Zhangjun Fei, professor, BTI. The group gathered to celebrate the launch of the collaborative project.

This project demonstrates how public-private partnerships can accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into practical solutions for food production. Using the rich genetic diversity of wild relatives will help us develop tomatoes that are more resilient to stress, resource efficient for farmers and widely available for consumers.
Kathy Munkvold, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director
Cultivating Thriving Production Systems

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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.

Connect: @FoundationFAR

About the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI)

Founded in 1924 and located in Ithaca, New York, BTI is at the forefront of plant science research. Our mission is to advance, communicate, and leverage pioneering discoveries in plant sciences to develop sustainable and resilient agriculture, improve food security, protect the environment, and enhance human health. As an independent nonprofit research institute affiliated with Cornell University, we are committed to inspiring and training the next generation of scientific leaders. Learn more at BTIscience.org.

About Meiogenix

Meiogenix is an agriculture biotech company that develops disruptive new products based on Chromosome Editing. By unlocking the natural genetic diversity of crops, Meiogenix expands the biodiversity that can be used by farmers to address global climate, sustainability and food challenges. For more information, please visit https://meiogenix.com/