The collaboration will focus on spinach downy mildew, a persistent and evolving disease that poses major challenges for growers globally, affecting crop reliability, quality and production sustainability.
Under the agreement, Resurrect Bio will deploy its targeted trait discovery platform to identify disease-resistance mechanisms that could support the development of more resilient spinach varieties. The project combines Bejo’s extensive expertise in vegetable breeding with Resurrect Bio’s work on restoring and strengthening crop immunity.
Bringing AI-driven crop immunity to vegetable breeding
The partnership provides another commercial validation of Resurrect Bio’s technology platform, which attracted significant attention earlier this year when the company closed a $10.3 million Series A funding round.
As reported by AgNavigator in May, the fundraising underscored growing investor confidence in gene-edited approaches to crop protection and crop resilience.
Resurrect Bio’s technology is based on a concept the company first outlined to AgTechNavigator earlier this year: using AI-driven gene editing to “resurrect” dormant disease-resistance mechanisms already present within crop genomes.
Rather than introducing entirely new traits, the company’s approach seeks to identify points where plant immune systems have been overcome by pathogens and restore natural resistance pathways that have been lost or weakened over time.
The company says its targeted trait discovery process can uncover actionable disease-resistance traits more quickly than conventional breeding, allowing seed companies to integrate them into existing breeding and innovation programmes.
Why spinach matters
Spinach represents an attractive target for this type of technology.
The crop is grown year-round in multiple regions and is valued worldwide for its nutritional profile. However, as a fast-growing leafy vegetable produced across several growing cycles each year, disease resistance can quickly break down as pathogens evolve.
For breeders and growers alike, durable disease resistance remains one of the most important characteristics in a new spinach variety, alongside resilience, yield stability and leaf quality.
Bejo said strengthening resistance to downy mildew is crucial to maintaining reliable spinach production and ensuring the longevity of resistant varieties.
“Spinach is a strong candidate for this kind of work because it is fast-growing, widely consumed and affected by a major global pathogen in downy mildew,” said Dr Cian Duggan, chief executive and co-founder of Resurrect Bio.
“This collaboration with Bejo is an opportunity to apply our disease-resistance trait discovery approach to a crop that matters to growers, breeders and consumers around the world.”
He added that combining Resurrect Bio’s understanding of plant-pathogen interactions with Bejo’s breeding expertise could unlock new approaches to disease resistance based on a deeper understanding of how pathogens interact with crops.
From technology platform to commercial partnerships
The two companies have been working together informally for several years, dating back to the early stages of Resurrect Bio’s technology development.
The new agreement formalises that relationship and represents another step in the company’s transition from research-driven startup to commercial crop technology provider.
For Bejo, the partnership aligns with its strategy of investing in innovative breeding technologies capable of delivering stronger and longer-lasting resistance traits.
“This collaboration reflects Bejo’s commitment to innovation in vegetable breeding and to developing high-quality spinach varieties with strong and durable disease resistance,” said Dr Laurens Kroon, head of research at Bejo.
“Our aim is to guarantee greater stability in spinach production and extend the lifetime of crop varieties and their resistance, helping to ensure a reliable supply of a vegetable consumed worldwide.”
For Resurrect Bio, the deal demonstrates how its platform can be applied across different crops and disease challenges, supporting its broader ambition to work with leading seed companies to develop more durable crop immunity.
As pressure grows to increase productivity while reducing chemical inputs, partnerships such as this highlight the role that AI, gene editing and advanced trait discovery are expected to play in the future of crop protection.
