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Oct 11, 2018 · The problem is that Dale’s plants are classified as genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). His bananas contain genetic information from two organisms – the gene from Musa acuminata malaccensis...
Feb 16, 2024 · Genetically modified cavendish bananas that are nearly immune to a devastating fungal disease have been given approval for commercial production and human consumption in Australia.
- Lydia Burton
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Can a genetically modified banana save the banana?
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Can genetically modified bananas improve agronomic traits?
Will genetically modified bananas replace Cavendish?
Jan 13, 2021 · Genetic engineering is useful for the development of banana varieties with Foc resistance and ideal plant architecture due to the sterility of most cultivars. However, the sustained immune response brought about by genetic engineering is always accompanied by yield reductions.
- Xiaoyi Wang, Renbo Yu, Jingyang Li
- 2021
Feb 16, 2024 · A genetically modified banana has been approved for growing on farms for the first time. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand have given the go-ahead to a strain of the Cavendish banana...
- Michael Le Page
- Environment Reporter
- Overview
- An appealing alternative
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The race to engineer the next-generation banana is on. The Colombian government confirmed last month that a banana-killing fungus has invaded the Americas — the source of much of the world’s banana supply. The invasion has given new urgency to efforts to create fruit that can withstand the scourge.
Scientists are using a mix of approaches to save the banana. A team in Australia has inserted a gene from wild bananas into the top commercial variety — known as the Cavendish — and are currently testing these modified bananas in field trials. Researchers are also turning to the powerful, precise gene-editing tool CRISPR to boost the Cavendish’s resilience against the fungus, known as Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4).
Breeding TR4 resistance into the Cavendish using conventional methods isn’t possible because the variety is sterile and propagated by cloning. So the only way to save the Cavendish may be to tweak its genome, says Randy Ploetz, a plant pathologist at the University of Florida in Homestead. The variety accounts for 99% of global banana shipments.
This isn’t the first time that a commercial banana variety has faced extinction. In the first half of the 1900s, another strain of the Fusarium fungus called TR1 nearly wiped out the era’s top banana, the Gros Michel. But farmers had a backup in the Cavendish, which was resistant to TR1, tough enough to withstand handling during export and had a broadly acceptable texture and taste. By the 1960s, big banana growers such as Chiquita, now based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were switching to the Cavendish.
Alarm as devastating banana fungus reaches the Americas
- Amy Maxmen
- 2019
May 21, 2023 · Australian researchers have developed the world's first genetically modified (GM) banana, but don't expect it in a fruit bowl near you anytime soon.
Aug 1, 2020 · The availability of a whole genome sequence and robust GE tool for banana opens up avenues for genetic manipulations for desired traits. •. This article presents a synopsis of recent advances and perspectives on the application of GE for generating disease-resistant varieties of banana. •.
