Review: Modifying bananas: From transgenics to organics?

Did you know that bananas are: one of the top ten world food crops, the world’s most popular fruit, eaten in nearly every country, and an important food security crop in regions where they are grown? Did you also know that most bananas are triploid and usually sterile, making conventional breeding approaches nearly impossible? Dale et al. review the roles of bananas in our diet and challenges in their genetic improvement. The authors describe transgenic approaches as well as the more recent cisgenic approaches (using banana genes) for increased vitamin A production and resistance to Panama disease, which is caused by a fungal pathogen. Finally, the conflict between the “organic” label and more sustainable banana production is addressed. Sustainability 10.3390/su9030333