GM Banana

Antifungal genes are introduced into selected lines of banana making them resistant to the fungi. The Global Program for Musa Improvement (PROMUSA - http://www.inibap.org/promusa) of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP - http://www.inibap.org/), is testing high yielding varieties of bananas that are resistant to Black Sigatoka and Fusarium Wilt diseases. One of the organizations collaborating with INIBAP is the Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement (http://www.agr.kuleuven.ac.be/dtp/tro/home.htm) of the Katholieke Universiteit at Leuven, Belgium.

Black Sigatoka, which causes lesions on the leaves of banana, has been known to wipe out around 80% of the total production in some plantations. Antifungal proteins are being incorporated into bananas and these varieties have performed well in contained tests.

Source: DPI, Queensland Government

Fusarium wilt is a vascular wilt disease of banana. It brought huge losses to Central American and Caribbean banana industries during the mid-1900s.

Source: University of Pretoria

Related Topics:

• Current banana research
• Delayed Ripening
• Fungal Resistance
• Virus Resistance
• Nematode Resistance
• Banana with Vaccine
• Banana Vaccine Technology

Summary Report on the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops - [View the 2004 report]

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SciDev.Net's dossier on GM crops - [Click here]

Global Status of Approved Genetically Modified Plants -  [Click here]

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