The Cavendish banana (Musa acuminata), which accounts for around 47% of bananas consumed worldwide, is now threatened by a devastating fungal disease: Panama disease, tropical race 4 (TR4).

Bananas, originating from Southeast Asia and west Oceania region over 7000 years ago, have evolved into a diverse array of cultivars, primarily through hybridization within Musa species. Cavendish ...

The Gros Michel did, and the Cavendish variety is battling disease. ... There are over 1,000 varieties of bananas, but about 47% that humans eat are Cavendish bananas (Musa acuminata).

QCAV-4 is a Cavendish Grand Nain banana that has been bioengineered with a single gene, RGA2, from the wild, south-east Asian banana, Musa acuminata ssp malaccensis. Cavendish bananas already contain ...