4 ms·

Doesn't Big Banana invest in GMO stuff to make them resistant to a well known disease?

scythe 12y ago
> Doesn't Big Banana invest in GMO stuff to make them resistant to a well known disease? It's very hard to genetically modify a plant that doesn't produce any seeds! Can bananas produce seeds? Yes, apparently: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#The_response http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#The_response It is an ongoing research project. The Gros Michel itself is not gone; there are a number of plants still living, but currently they are trying to deal with the strange banana chromosomes: bananas have three chromosomes -- an odd number!
- whyenot 12y ago
  > It's very hard to genetically modify a plant that doesn't produce any seeds! Huh? Gene modification in plants is almost always done on individual cells that are then grown into fully-differentiated plants using tissue culture techniques. There are well established protocols for this. Bananas are routinely grown from tissue culture. Here is an example of a genetically modified banana: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/here-come-the-super-bananas http://motherboard.vice.com/read/here-come-the-super-bananas
  - bduerst 12y ago
    Depends on the method. Gene guns work best with embryonic tissue, which is found in the seeds. The Agrobacteria method can use just about any tissue, but doesn't work for all plants. That article talks about them applying for clinical trials, but I'm pretty sure they don't have the carotene transformed banana plant yet (unless it's unpublished).
noselasd 12y ago
Banana trees that's used commercially are cloned by taking off-shoots, and are sterile. It's quite hard, if not impossible, to alter their genetics. Likewise it's hard to breed new banana trees that produce suitable fruits.
- rrmoelker 12y ago
  They don't really seem to be sterile, rather just highly unlikely to get offspring: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#Banana_breeding_impeded_by_triploidy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#Banana_breeding_... It seems that with each meiosis step the banana plants become less fertile.
DanBC 12y ago
One interesting bit of research tends to look at the wild variety of crops -- "crop - wild relatives". The BBC has an excellent series, downloadable as podcasts. Here's the episode talking about Nikolai Vavilov. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023wd2y http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023wd2y

> Doesn't Big Banana invest in GMO stuff to make them resistant to a well known disease? It's very hard to genetically modify a plant that doesn't produce any seeds! Can bananas produce seeds? Yes, apparently: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#The_response http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#The_response It is an ongoing research project. The Gros Michel itself is not gone; there are a number of plants still living, but currently they are trying to deal with the strange banana chromosomes: bananas have three chromosomes -- an odd number!

whyenot 12y ago
> It's very hard to genetically modify a plant that doesn't produce any seeds! Huh? Gene modification in plants is almost always done on individual cells that are then grown into fully-differentiated plants using tissue culture techniques. There are well established protocols for this. Bananas are routinely grown from tissue culture. Here is an example of a genetically modified banana: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/here-come-the-super-bananas http://motherboard.vice.com/read/here-come-the-super-bananas
- bduerst 12y ago
  Depends on the method. Gene guns work best with embryonic tissue, which is found in the seeds. The Agrobacteria method can use just about any tissue, but doesn't work for all plants. That article talks about them applying for clinical trials, but I'm pretty sure they don't have the carotene transformed banana plant yet (unless it's unpublished).

noselasd 12y ago

Banana trees that's used commercially are cloned by taking off-shoots, and are sterile. It's quite hard, if not impossible, to alter their genetics. Likewise it's hard to breed new banana trees that produce suitable fruits.

rrmoelker 12y ago
They don't really seem to be sterile, rather just highly unlikely to get offspring: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#Banana_breeding_impeded_by_triploidy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease#Banana_breeding_... It seems that with each meiosis step the banana plants become less fertile.

DanBC 12y ago

One interesting bit of research tends to look at the wild variety of crops -- "crop - wild relatives". The BBC has an excellent series, downloadable as podcasts. Here's the episode talking about Nikolai Vavilov. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023wd2y http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023wd2y