4 ms·

When you say "limited genetic diversity" in reference to a mammal like a cow I am inclined to agree. They reproduce sexually and can gain or lose traits. But I

When you say "limited genetic diversity" in reference to a mammal like a cow I am inclined to agree. They reproduce sexually and can gain or lose traits. But I am unsure if you can have a 'wild relative' of a banana as my understanding is every single instance of the plant is just a clone. I might have it wrong however, the plant might be able to undergo sexual reproduction but is propagated by humans cloning it. For example, consider Pando. Apparently the plant could theoretically reproduce sexually but hasn't in thousands of years. No one is even sure if it could be induced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)

Symbiote 11y ago
There's crazy genetics happening here, which I certainly don't understand enough to explain — I'm not a botanist, I just write software for them. But wild bananas do have seeds. There's a picture of the seeds of Musa balbisiana [1], one of the ancestors of cultivated bananas. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_balbisiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_balbisiana
- hydrogen18 11y ago
  I agree completely that the wild bananas have seeds. But do domesticated ones even have the structures to pollinate? In any case, with modern tech. we could probably redomesticate bananas in a few years. I'm less bothered by the food implications of bananas dying off than the economic ones. Bananas are big business for some equatorial countries. An upset in the economy usually precedes an upset in the government.
  - nkurz 11y ago
    But do domesticated ones even have the structures to pollinate? Yes, the seeds in Cavendish bananas are rare but viable. There was a Canadian documentary a few years ago that featured a Honduran banana breeder: http://modernfarmer.com/2015/05/review-the-fruit-hunters/ http://modernfarmer.com/2015/05/review-the-fruit-hunters/ And here's a recent PBS segment that covers just banana breeding: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-bananas-we-know-and-love/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-...
    - hydrogen18 11y ago
      That is interesting. If I find a Cavendish with seeds and I plant them, do the fruits of that plant also have seeds?

Symbiote 11y ago

There's crazy genetics happening here, which I certainly don't understand enough to explain — I'm not a botanist, I just write software for them. But wild bananas do have seeds. There's a picture of the seeds of Musa balbisiana [1], one of the ancestors of cultivated bananas. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_balbisiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_balbisiana

hydrogen18 11y ago
I agree completely that the wild bananas have seeds. But do domesticated ones even have the structures to pollinate? In any case, with modern tech. we could probably redomesticate bananas in a few years. I'm less bothered by the food implications of bananas dying off than the economic ones. Bananas are big business for some equatorial countries. An upset in the economy usually precedes an upset in the government.
- nkurz 11y ago
  But do domesticated ones even have the structures to pollinate? Yes, the seeds in Cavendish bananas are rare but viable. There was a Canadian documentary a few years ago that featured a Honduran banana breeder: http://modernfarmer.com/2015/05/review-the-fruit-hunters/ http://modernfarmer.com/2015/05/review-the-fruit-hunters/ And here's a recent PBS segment that covers just banana breeding: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-bananas-we-know-and-love/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-...
  - hydrogen18 11y ago
    That is interesting. If I find a Cavendish with seeds and I plant them, do the fruits of that plant also have seeds?