JAPAN – Researchers have determined that a specific combination of resistance genes can fully protect tomato plants against begomoviruses that cause tomato yellow leaf curl disease. This devastating condition severely reduces yields worldwide. The study, led by Professor Sota Koeda at Kindai University and published in Euphytica, provides a blueprint for breeding more resilient tomato varieties without compromising fruit quality. Tomato yellow leaf curl disease is a global problem in tomato production. While introducing resistance genes is one strategy to control the disease, a single Ty gene has proven inadequate against highly aggressive viral strains common in tropical Southeast Asia. However, introducing too many resistance genes can also bring linked wild genomic regions that negatively affect cultivated tomato traits, a phenomenon known as linkage drag. The research team tested tomato plants against three begomoviruses that differed in virulence. They found that AVTO1919, ...