An improved banana reference genome sequence

After publishing the complete sequence for the banana Musa acuminata four years ago, CIRAD and its partners have now produced an improved reference sequence. Using semi-automatic bioinformatics tools, they conducted high quality assemblies that will serve to study this species, which is the origin of all edible banana varieties, in greater detail.

Cultivated bananas are sterile, parthenocarpic varieties ― that produce fruits without fertilization ―, resulting from hybridization of various species and sub-species of the genus Musa.

The sterility of those varieties is an issue for their genetic improvement. Breeders therefore use their potential parents, which are more fertile, to create new commercial varieties or improve them upstream to optimize worthwhile traits.

Read the Research result

Published: 18/08/2016