An ode to the ‘accomplished muse’, Musa acuminata OR ‘B’ is for banana…

Tuesday, 25 September 2012 10:34

Brand-new blog post buzzes brightly over brilliant bananas

The GCP blog is in a musical mood, with a fresh post singing the praises of a trio of GCP scientists who have been instrumental in orchestrating an original overture for banana genetics.

The principal conductors of this concerto, Jean Christophe Glaszmann (CIRAD), Hei Leung (IRRI) and Angélique d’Hont (CIRAD), form a close harmony as they trill to the tune of their scientific accomplishment: by harking back to the banana family tree, they have revealed new research routes for incorporating disease resistance genes in banana. This revelation is of great importance for the golden fruit, whose sweet flesh of burnished butter ensures food security in the tropics for 400 million people, proving to be much more than a ‘banana split’.

The post publicises how the dawn of this new age in banana genetics is heralded by an article published in Nature entitled The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants. Angélique d’Hont, the article’s lead author, evokes gladiatorial glory in genetics, remarking how GCP collaboration has given them “a leg-up in the intense competition that typifies the genome sequencing arena”.

This achievement marks a milestone on the road to accomplishing GCP’s mission by helping to unlock genetic diversity in banana for the resource-poor; so sounds the finale to this scientific symphony.

Choose your favourite medium! Besides the blogpost, you can also follow shorter versions of the story in pictures on Flickr or Facebook.