It is widely accepted that wild relatives contain significantly more genetic diversity than the modern cultivated types of tomato (commercial hybrids and heirlooms). Charlie Rick estimated that wild relatives harbor 95%+ of the genetic diversity within Solanum. These wild relatives of tomato have contributed the vast majority of genes for resistance to various tomato pathogens, and will likely be a continued sources of genetic variation for tolerance to abiotic stress, and other characteristics . Can crosses to these wild relatives be used to improve cultivated tomato - yes they have. In fact, though it ★★★★es off some heirloom devotees, modern hybrids generally have more genetic diversity than heirlooms due to multiple introgressions of sequences from wild relatives for improved tolerance to multiple diseases.
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