2Blades and BHN Seed, Inc. have completed a non-exclusive license to the sequence of the pepper disease resistance gene, bs5. The gene confers resistance to bacterial spot disease caused by Xanthomonas, one of the most devastating pathogens of peppers grown in warm, moist environments and a major limitation of both pepper and tomato production worldwide. The agreement provides BHN Seed with rights to use the gene sequence and markers in conventional breeding of peppers to develop Xanthomonas-resistant cultivars. The gene has been widely licensed by breeding companies for use as a marker in conventional breeding approaches for peppers. 2Blades has supported the development of a number of resistance approaches and aims to get these into broad use for commercial and subsistence agriculture.