<
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-may-have-found-a-way-to-save-the-banana-from-extinction>
"Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones
people were eating a few generations ago?
The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the
Cavendish banana, while the one that was in grocery stores up to the 1950s was
a variety called Gros Michel, which was wiped out by a disease called Fusarium
wilt of banana, or FWB.
FWB of Gros Michel was caused by
Fusarium oxysporum race 1, a fungal pathogen
that affects bananas. This fungal infection kills a plant by occupying its
vascular system, blocking water and mineral transportation.
Plant biologists developed the
Fusarium-resistant Cavendish variety to
replace the Gros Michel. Yet, over the past few decades, a resurgence of FWB
caused by a different strain of the same fungus called tropical race 4, or TR4,
is once again threatening global banana production.
How did
Fusarium oxysporum gain the ability to overcome resistance and infect
so many different plants?"
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
