In 5-10 years a fungus could cause the disappearance of bananas, is there a solution?

Platano, cambur (in Venezuela), banana, this wonderful fruit, so well named scientifically ( Musa paradisiaca ), loved and consumed in almost the whole world, could be in danger of extinction, at less as a world export product.

It is not the first time that the disappearance of bananas from international trade is considered, but that is why it is still tremendously disturbing.

In 5-10 years a fungus could cause the disappearance of bananas, is there a solution?

In the 60s, the main species of commercial bananas consumed in the world was the Gros Michel , a variety that was swept away by a fungus known as evil or Panama disease , which forced me to look for another kind of banana resistant to this fungus, and which turned out to be the Cavendish , currently the most consumed on the planet.However, in the 70s, another strain of this fungus emerged in Southeast Asia ( Fusarium oxy sporum ), which attacks the roots and against which it has been fighting in Asia, Oceania and Africa since then, although it is also present in Latin America, where the largest production of bananas in the world is found .

In 5-10 years a fungus could cause the disappearance of bananas, is there a solution?

While seeking to develop a type of Cavendish banana capable of resisting this pest, a new threat has emerged, another fungus known as the sigatoka ( Mycosphaerella fijiensis ), which attacks the leaves and quickly ends up with whole plantations in such a short time, that it is estimated that it could end the commercial version of banana in a span between 5 and 10 years.

In 5-10 years a fungus could cause the disappearance of bananas, is there a solution?

Why s On how virulent and global are the banana pests? You may not know that the banana does not reproduce by seeds but by “children”, or clones, and it is as if all the great plantations in the world, where the Cavendish variety is used, were a single individual.This uniformity favors rapidity and easy dissemination of pests.

This new threat has scientists and agronomists around the world looking for a solution that is also fast and efficient.It would be to develop or find a new variety resistant to these fungi; Another aim would be to know the enemy better, which has been the strategy adopted by researchers from the University of California at Davis.

Ioannis Srtegiopoulos , UC Davis plant pathologist and coordinator From this research, I study how different strains of sigatoka attack bananas, manipulating the metabolism of these plants to feed on their nutrients.

«This parallel change in the pathogen metabolism and The host plant has been overlooked so far and may represent a molecular fingerprint of the adaptation process.It is really a wake-up call to the research community ».

In the study conducted at UC Davis, and published in the digital journal PloS Genetics , they achieved sequencing the genome of the three strains of sigatoka, an essential step in the elaboration of some kind of biological or chemical control.

You may not see the total disappearance of bananas, but as it becomes more expensive and It is likely that you will begin to see exotic varieties, other than Cavendish, of this fruit so dear to children and adults around the world.

In 5-10 years a fungus could cause the disappearance of bananas, is there a solution?

If you want to know more about this extraordinary fruit , read why its fruits grow up, and the benefits of eating bananas with dark spots.

Images: BCBL Library,=ChevalieR=, NH53, Scot Nelson

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