Induced mutations for generating bananas resistant to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4.

Abstract Bananas are a staple for more than 400 million people. Additionally, more than 16.5 million tonnes are exported, making it both an important food security and a cash crop. Productivity of Cavendish-type bananas is threatened by both abiotic and biotic stresses. The fact that triploid bananas are sterile, parthenocarpic and obligate vegetatively propagated makes them particularly susceptible to diseases, including Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (Foc TR4). This is because continual clonal propagation has led to loss of genetic diversity. Additionally, lack of meiosis limits methods for breeding. Foc TR4 has been devastating Cavendish bananas in South-east Asia but has recently also been reported from Queensland in Australia, the Middle East and Mozambique, thus threatening global banana production. To address this, we are performing mutagenesis of in vitro propagated bananas to broaden the genetic diversity in order to find new alleles conferring disease resistance. We have developed methods for efficient induction of mutations in isolated apical meristems from shoot tips using chemical mutagens and ionizing radiation. Mutation discovery methods have been adapted to recover mutations including single point mutations and large deletions spanning millions of base pairs. We have created approximately 5000 mutated lines for forward-genetic screens to identify TR4 resistance in greenhouse- evaluated material. A subset of ca. 500 in vitro plantlets was subjected to glasshouse-based screening using a virulent F. oxysporum isolate. To date, 23 lines showing altered resistance responses to Foc TR4 have been identified.