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Virus lurking inside banana genome has been destroyed with CRISPR
Genome editing has been used to destroy a virus that lurks inside many of the bananas grown in Africa. Other teams are trying to use it to make the Cavendish bananas sold in supermarkets worldwide resistant to a disease that threatens to make it impossible to grow this variety commercially in future. The banana streak virus can not only be spread from plant to plant by insects like most plant viruses. It also integrates its DNA into the banana's genome. In places like west Africa, where bananas are a staple food, most bananas now have the virus lurking inside them.
[...] But Leena Tripathi at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Kenya has now used the CRISPR genome editing method to target and destroy the viral DNA inside the genome of a banana variety called Gonja Manjaya.
The plan is to use these plants to breed virus-free plants for farmers. Her team is also using CRISPR to make the bananas resistant to the virus, so they are not simply re-infected. But the legal status of genome-edited plants in the west African countries where Gonja Manjaya is grown remains uncertain. "I think right now they are in discussions about whether it requires legislation," says Tripathi.
The banana streak virus does not infect the popular Cavendish banana. But a fungal strain called Tropical Race 4 is devastating Cavendish plantations as it spreads around the world. Before the 1960s the most popular banana was the reportedly more delicious Gros Michel, which farmers had to stop growing because of the spread of another fungal strain called Tropical Race 1.
PAPER (DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-02) (DX)
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Immerman on Friday February 01 2019, @06:33PM (13 children)
Except that you're not going to have that choice. Cavendish bananas are going extinct due to TR4, just like the Gros Michels did ~60 years ago. Severe disease vulnerability is one of the big risks of a monoculture after all, made all the worse when the pretty much the entire population is clones.
Fairly soon now your options are going to be either GMO bananas designed to be disease resistant, or whatever the next, probably considerably less appetizing, breed of bananas ends up being.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 01 2019, @06:43PM (3 children)
Or maybe specialty growers will continue to provide it, but at a higher price. Commercially unviable does not mean extinct.
And even widespread, devastating pests can be avoided. Consider Phylloxera, which Australia has managed to avoid with prudent quarantines while every vineyard in Europe was (and remains) infected.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 01 2019, @07:04PM (2 children)
I wouldn't count on that. If it were that simple, do you think we'd be having all those issues and concern? Probably not.
And if it's not commercially viable, then why bother? There are many types of bananas out there, it's just that most of the aren't produced in the kind of massive quantities that the cavendish is. And they're not so good as to justify the price that it would take to keep them separated from the problem indefinitely.
The issue here is having one banana type that can't reproduce on it's own covering such a large area. If it's not the current problem, there will be another one along at some point that will wipe it out.
Normally, you could preserve some seeds in order to replant after whatever it is has died out, but in that case these plants aren't being propagated from seed, so, you can't do that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 01 2019, @07:35PM (1 child)
VICE did a bit on bananas, and one shown was completely brown, and delicious, when ripe.
The brown was a problem, as consumers have been educated to only buy yellow bananas.
There are varieties which are also green when ripe, and those too are being cast aside for the same reason.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday February 01 2019, @07:53PM
If poorly trained consumers are the problem, "off-color" varieties could still be grown for processed foods such as smoothies [campbells.com], breads, ice cream, baby food, etc. [shape.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday February 01 2019, @07:02PM (2 children)
Don't worry, they'll start marketing "organically grown GMO bananas" next.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by EJ on Friday February 01 2019, @07:08PM (1 child)
I prefer inorganic fruits and vegetables.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday February 02 2019, @01:29AM
I like mine without manure on them...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday February 01 2019, @07:21PM (3 children)
...or whatever the next, probably considerably less appetizing, breed of bananas ends up being.
So true! Cavendish were considered trash bananas before all the Gros Michels died out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 01 2019, @07:32PM (2 children)
Then why all the trouble to preserve trash?
Or, if humans will happily consume trash, why bother preserving the good stuff?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday February 01 2019, @09:30PM (1 child)
Because the Cavendish ships well, not as well as the Gros Michel, but it can be transported around the world. Most banana varieties require much more careful shipping to avoid bruises and/or will overripen before they reach a destination. If I remember correctly, the Cavendish can be picked more unripe and will have a relatively long storage life so it arrives okay for consumers halfway around the world.
FYI - most of the widely available varities of produce are chosen or bred for shipping, not flavor or nutrition or whatever. Compared to fresh and more perishable local varieties, they often taste like trash.
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Friday February 01 2019, @10:26PM
, the Cavendish can be picked more unripe and will have a relatively long storage life
They are stored unripe under gas, and then when required, immersed in a different gas to ripen them.
If you put your ripe bananas next to unripe avocados, the gas will ripen the avocados in hours.
They will, of course, be over ripe hours later.
I am sure someone will identify the gasses used.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday February 01 2019, @11:04PM
I just had a vision of a remake of Clone Wars, but with bananas and an assortment of other fruit.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RandomFactor on Saturday February 02 2019, @02:20AM
Gros Michels are not extinct I just ordered a crate last year from a nursery in Florida for a 104 year old relative to give her a taste of her childhood.
They aren't cheap or quick to get though...
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