BCEStudent
09-01-2014, 06:43 PM
I've found out some pretty interesting stuff but I'm having some trouble find some things.
Here is an overview of what I know:
The current, most wide-spread banana is the Cavendish. It seems to be the case that the Cavendish is the most wide-spread subgroup due to its resistance to panama disease. A trait which was not shared with it's predecessor Gros Michel. It seems like the current banana is under similar threat these days. Mostly from the fungal disease 'Black Sigatoka' - which interferes with photosynthesis - ultimately leading to a significant decrease in bunch weight. There also seem to be two other diseases, which I would consider more of a threat if they were more widely spread. These are BXW (Banana Xanthomonas Wilt) and the Bunchy Top Virus. Anyway, the current remedy for Black Sigatoka seems to be spraying a bunch of fungicide everywhere. There are clear downsides to this (worker exposure, cost) and so GM seems like an attractive route. As such, people are involved in the genetic modification of bananas. Additionally, it seems like there has been some success.
What I am looking for...
-Any corrections, modifications, or interesting additions to my 'banana history'. Additionally, I would love to put together a history of the genetic modification of bananas, but I have had no luck finding this information and putting it together.
-Information on bananas that have been genetically modified to be resistant to any of the three aforementioned diseases.
-The current state of affairs regarding bananas, disease and research.
-Further information and updates regarding the research mentioned in the articles below.
What I have found...
An overview of the genetic modification of bananas (http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/fruit_vegetables/17.bananas_using_genetic_engineering_against_fungal_disease.html )
Uganda hosts a banana trial (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7148/full/4471042a.html)
Uganda prepares to plant transgenic bananas. (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101001/full/news.2010.509.html)
GMO and saving the banana (http://phys.org/news/2011-02-genetically-key-banana-industry.html)
Some research papers on genetic modification and bananas. (http://www.musalit.org/saveSearch.php?id=d15bfe95c0b127c55fe29ecadd149202)
Control of black leaf streak disease (http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/adap/ASCC_LandGrant/Dr_Brooks/BrochureNo10.pdf)
Thanks for reading this far! Any help would be appreciated.
EDIT: So I have now found two sources which I think are a bit more important than most of the others. So far the main research I can find on genetically modified bananas can be broken up into three projects.
(1) The splicing of the DNA corresponding to a rice gene which codes for a protein that destroys fungal cell walls. (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/12/science/la-sci-sn-banana-genetics-20120712)
In the case of the black sigatoka field trial, bananas were engineered with rice genes that carry instructions for proteins called chitinases. Chitinases break up molecules called chitin – found in insect skeletons and also the cell walls of fungi.
(2) Bananas modified to fight BXW by making proteins from sweet peppers. (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/12/science/la-sci-sn-banana-genetics-20120712)
Bananas genetically modified to fight bacterial wilt make two proteins from sweet pepper. One of them is plant ferrodoxin-like protein. It triggers a strong response when plants are attacked by pathogens. The plant, in this response, essentially kills off its own tissue around the site of the infection. At the same time, lots of highly reactive oxygen species are produced, which can attack the invader. And the plant starts making antimicrobial chemicals.
(3) Taiwanese bananas engineered by mutating sequences of DNA in its genome. (Pg. 220 in the linked book.) (http://books.google.com/books?id=brjfUhutOK4C&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=taiwan+radiation+bananas+mutation+resistance&source=bl&ots=uWxqDsyYTc&sig=k7bgKyxlhI8ooE1RWBCu_J7wikQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IOgFVOvxOonJggT3iYHoBw&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=taiwan%20radiation%20bananas%20mutation%20resistance&f=false)
Here is an overview of what I know:
The current, most wide-spread banana is the Cavendish. It seems to be the case that the Cavendish is the most wide-spread subgroup due to its resistance to panama disease. A trait which was not shared with it's predecessor Gros Michel. It seems like the current banana is under similar threat these days. Mostly from the fungal disease 'Black Sigatoka' - which interferes with photosynthesis - ultimately leading to a significant decrease in bunch weight. There also seem to be two other diseases, which I would consider more of a threat if they were more widely spread. These are BXW (Banana Xanthomonas Wilt) and the Bunchy Top Virus. Anyway, the current remedy for Black Sigatoka seems to be spraying a bunch of fungicide everywhere. There are clear downsides to this (worker exposure, cost) and so GM seems like an attractive route. As such, people are involved in the genetic modification of bananas. Additionally, it seems like there has been some success.
What I am looking for...
-Any corrections, modifications, or interesting additions to my 'banana history'. Additionally, I would love to put together a history of the genetic modification of bananas, but I have had no luck finding this information and putting it together.
-Information on bananas that have been genetically modified to be resistant to any of the three aforementioned diseases.
-The current state of affairs regarding bananas, disease and research.
-Further information and updates regarding the research mentioned in the articles below.
What I have found...
An overview of the genetic modification of bananas (http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/fruit_vegetables/17.bananas_using_genetic_engineering_against_fungal_disease.html )
Uganda hosts a banana trial (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7148/full/4471042a.html)
Uganda prepares to plant transgenic bananas. (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101001/full/news.2010.509.html)
GMO and saving the banana (http://phys.org/news/2011-02-genetically-key-banana-industry.html)
Some research papers on genetic modification and bananas. (http://www.musalit.org/saveSearch.php?id=d15bfe95c0b127c55fe29ecadd149202)
Control of black leaf streak disease (http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/adap/ASCC_LandGrant/Dr_Brooks/BrochureNo10.pdf)
Thanks for reading this far! Any help would be appreciated.
EDIT: So I have now found two sources which I think are a bit more important than most of the others. So far the main research I can find on genetically modified bananas can be broken up into three projects.
(1) The splicing of the DNA corresponding to a rice gene which codes for a protein that destroys fungal cell walls. (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/12/science/la-sci-sn-banana-genetics-20120712)
In the case of the black sigatoka field trial, bananas were engineered with rice genes that carry instructions for proteins called chitinases. Chitinases break up molecules called chitin – found in insect skeletons and also the cell walls of fungi.
(2) Bananas modified to fight BXW by making proteins from sweet peppers. (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/12/science/la-sci-sn-banana-genetics-20120712)
Bananas genetically modified to fight bacterial wilt make two proteins from sweet pepper. One of them is plant ferrodoxin-like protein. It triggers a strong response when plants are attacked by pathogens. The plant, in this response, essentially kills off its own tissue around the site of the infection. At the same time, lots of highly reactive oxygen species are produced, which can attack the invader. And the plant starts making antimicrobial chemicals.
(3) Taiwanese bananas engineered by mutating sequences of DNA in its genome. (Pg. 220 in the linked book.) (http://books.google.com/books?id=brjfUhutOK4C&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=taiwan+radiation+bananas+mutation+resistance&source=bl&ots=uWxqDsyYTc&sig=k7bgKyxlhI8ooE1RWBCu_J7wikQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IOgFVOvxOonJggT3iYHoBw&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=taiwan%20radiation%20bananas%20mutation%20resistance&f=false)