Research carried out by No Patents on Seeds! shows how CRISPR/Cas technology is being used to undermine the freedom to operate for conventional tomato breeders. It was found, in particular, that patents are having a detrimental effect on conventional breeding efforts to produce tomatoes resistant to the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus. The plant pathogen was first described in 2015 in Jordan and Israel and it has been spreading rapidly ever since. It mostly affects tomato and pepper plants and takes its name from the wrinkly spots (rugose) that appear on the fruits.
April 2024
Downloads
