{"id":875355,"date":"2026-10-08T17:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/875355\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T17:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:08:09","slug":"heritable-and-kagome-enlist-ai-to-hunt-for-tomato-disease-resistance-genes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/875355\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritable and Kagome enlist AI to hunt for tomato disease-resistance genes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heritable Agriculture has teamed up with Japanese food giant Kagome on a research programme aimed at finding genes that could help protect tomatoes against a major disease threat and introducing that resistance into commercial varieties.<\/p>\n

The collaboration, which for now is exclusively focused on tomatoes, will combine Kagome\u2019s germplasm, breeding expertise and research data with Heritable\u2019s AI-powered genomic analysis technology.<\/p>\n

The specific objective is to identify genes associated with both disease resistance and susceptibility, before using promising resistance genes in Kagome\u2019s breeding programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main question that we want to answer is: can we use biodiversity to mine for resistance genes and can they be used in Kagome breeding programs to fight pathogens in fields?\u201d a Heritable spokesperson told AgNavigator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe specific goal is to find genes that are important for disease resistance and susceptibility and use them in Kagome\u2019s breeding program to develop new resilient varieties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Success, the spokesperson added, would mean using the identified genes to introgress resistance into several different Kagome cultivars.<\/p>\n

Target pathogen remains under wraps<\/p>\n

The companies are not disclosing the first pathogen they intend to tackle.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately we cannot disclose this. It is a major pathogen threatening the tomato industry,\u201d Heritable told AgNavigator.<\/p>\n

Nor would the company put a precise figure on the potential crop losses associated with the disease, although it said \u201cthere is a risk that the potential loss could be very substantial\u201d.<\/p>\n

The project reflects a wider concern that changing climatic and growing conditions are increasing disease pressure on crops, while breeders face the challenge of combining stronger disease resistance with yield, productivity and crop quality.<\/p>\n

Traditional breeding can take significant time and resources to locate useful genes and identify promising breeding material. Heritable believes AI can speed up that discovery process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mining biological data for useful genes<\/p>\n

Heritable\u2019s proprietary platform integrates biological datasets including DNA, RNA and phenotypic information, using AI to search large datasets for candidate genes associated with valuable agricultural traits.<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2026, Heritable will apply that capability to Kagome\u2019s genetic resources and research data to investigate the genetic basis of disease resistance.<\/p>\n

The ambition is not simply to produce a list of genetic associations, but to translate the discoveries into Kagome\u2019s practical breeding pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrop losses caused by diseases and pests remain one of the most significant challenges facing agriculture today,\u201d said Brad Zamft, CEO of Heritable Agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining Heritable\u2019s AI capabilities with Kagome\u2019s world-class breeding expertise, we believe we can help address longstanding challenges in vegetable production.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the project as an opportunity to demonstrate the ability of Heritable\u2019s technology to accelerate development of more resilient crops.<\/p>\n

Hiroyuki Ueda, Executive Officer and Head of Global Agri Research and Business Center at Kagome, said addressing crop diseases would require new technological approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining Heritable\u2019s advanced AI platform with Kagome\u2019s breeding expertise, we aim to create innovative solutions that deliver value to growers, consumers, and the broader food system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

From investment to R&D partnership<\/p>\n

The collaboration follows an investment in Heritable in 2025 by the Sunrise Fund, Kagome\u2019s corporate venture capital vehicle operated with SVG Ventures through Kagome\u2019s US subsidiary GARBiC USA.<\/p>\n

The relationship has since moved beyond investment. Over the past year, Heritable researchers have visited Kagome\u2019s research facilities to learn more about its breeding operations, while Kagome R&D staff have travelled to Heritable\u2019s California headquarters to exchange knowledge on AI, research methods and innovation.<\/p>\n

The tomato project is intended to be the first phase of a broader strategic relationship. Kagome and Heritable said they plan to explore further opportunities to apply the approach to crop improvement and breeding in other agricultural applications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heritable Agriculture has teamed up with Japanese food giant Kagome on a research programme aimed at finding genes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":875356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[41489,38442,106399,43380,368400,97930,135895,368401,5641,15635,80017,97931,200,107549,25247,261466,29772,28509,269,34360,61043,5636,79,69534,29177,257157,27093,362298,18391],"class_list":["post-875355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-backyard","tag-countryside","tag-crop","tag-cultivate","tag-cultivation","tag-delicious","tag-edible","tag-farm-fresh","tag-farming","tag-field","tag-flavor","tag-fresh","tag-genetics","tag-harvest","tag-healthy","tag-maturity","tag-natural","tag-nutrients","tag-nutrition","tag-produce","tag-row","tag-rural","tag-science","tag-soil","tag-sustainable","tag-tomatoes","tag-vegetables","tag-vine","tag-yield"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}