Jun 9, 2025 11:36 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086759
INTRO: Bananas are a staple for millions, yet their production is threatened by limited genetic diversity and breeding challenges. In a major advance, researchers analyzed over 2,700 triploid banana hybrids to map the genetic basis of 24 key traits related to yield, plant structure, and fruit quality.
Using a high-resolution SNP dataset and a newly adapted genome-wide association study (GWAS) model, the team identified 62 trait-associated genomic regions known as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Many of these would have remained undetected with traditional approaches due to large chromosomal rearrangements in the banana genome.
The findings offer a detailed genetic roadmap to guide future banana improvement and open new avenues for breeding structurally complex crops.
Banana breeding is notoriously difficult. Most cultivated bananas are sterile triploids with limited recombination and long growth cycles. Adding to the complexity, many carry large chromosomal rearrangements that disrupt inheritance patterns and hinder trait mapping.
Despite thousands of banana cultivars worldwide, global production depends heavily on just a few varieties, like the 'Cavendish', making the crop vulnerable to pests and climate change. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed crop genetics but have had limited success in bananas due to these structural challenges.
As global food systems face increasing pressure, decoding banana's tangled genetics has become essential. To address these issues, researchers sought to develop more powerful models for trait discovery... (MORE - details, no ads)
PAPER: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae307
INTRO: Bananas are a staple for millions, yet their production is threatened by limited genetic diversity and breeding challenges. In a major advance, researchers analyzed over 2,700 triploid banana hybrids to map the genetic basis of 24 key traits related to yield, plant structure, and fruit quality.
Using a high-resolution SNP dataset and a newly adapted genome-wide association study (GWAS) model, the team identified 62 trait-associated genomic regions known as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Many of these would have remained undetected with traditional approaches due to large chromosomal rearrangements in the banana genome.
The findings offer a detailed genetic roadmap to guide future banana improvement and open new avenues for breeding structurally complex crops.
Banana breeding is notoriously difficult. Most cultivated bananas are sterile triploids with limited recombination and long growth cycles. Adding to the complexity, many carry large chromosomal rearrangements that disrupt inheritance patterns and hinder trait mapping.
Despite thousands of banana cultivars worldwide, global production depends heavily on just a few varieties, like the 'Cavendish', making the crop vulnerable to pests and climate change. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed crop genetics but have had limited success in bananas due to these structural challenges.
As global food systems face increasing pressure, decoding banana's tangled genetics has become essential. To address these issues, researchers sought to develop more powerful models for trait discovery... (MORE - details, no ads)
PAPER: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae307