Bananas are not what we were led to believe.
Most of the time, when ripe, are yellow and sweet with peanut butter on top. A global survey shows that there are many more appealing bananas than the generic ones found in American supermarkets.
The banana family tree is more diverse and mysterious than previously thought, according to a study published this month.
According to the author of the study, the diversity of bananas is not as described as we thought. Past researchers didn't pay much attention to it.
She and her colleagues found that there were at least three wild banana ancestors not yet discovered. Like the revelation of a long- lost relative, knowing that these missing wild ancestors are out there could change the way we see bananas.
The flesh of wild bananas has seeds that make them almost inedible. It is thought that bananas were domesticated 7,000 years ago. The plants on the island were bred to be seedless and to produce fruit without fertilization. They didn't have formal knowledge of the principles of inheritance and evolution.
The new banana was affected by the spread of trading routes. As farmers crossbred it with other banana species, it became more complex.
Bananas can be traced back to their ancestors with the help of genetic markers. What kind of trading routes and agricultural practices were established in some communities? It's an exciting mystery to understand how banana fruits full of big hard seeds turn into seedless fruit.
There were three ancestors that they couldn't account for when they analyzed a collection of bananas. One seemed to have a strong genetic influence on bananas. Around the island of Borneo, there was another one. The third appeared to be from Newguinea. The wild ancestors left their genetic mark in a few geographic clusters of domesticated banana plants.
James Leebens-Mack, a plant biologist at the University of Georgia, was not involved in the new study. That is really neat.
Practical discoveries of mystery ancestors are also possible. The modern breeding of bananas is very complex because they are sterile. She told them to go back to wild bananas and figure out how to make plants similar to bananas. You have to breed those plants with others to make a sterile banana.
The Cavendish, which is the most widely consumed variety in the world, is the only banana variety that can be grown around the world. Because of the low genetic diversity of banana crops, they are vulnerable to disease outbreak.
Dr. Leebens-Mack said that they heard it all the time. There will be a banana famine at some point.
Banana genetics need to be diversified to make crops more resistant. They have the ability to look at different wild traits and decide which one is best for adaptation to climate extremes. Pamela Soltis is a botanist at the Florida Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the study.
The banana family tree needs to be simpler to do this. The discovery of banana ancestors could lead to more research into the crop's genetics.
She said that they expected it to add some weight to the call for more bananas.
Rouard said that his friends and family were always amazed that he was working on bananas. There are still a lot of things to discover.
The search for bananas is going well.
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