GM banana could save $20b industry from devastating fungus, researcher says

Australian researchers have developed the world's first genetically modified (GM) banana, but don't expect it in a fruit bowl near you anytime soon.

Instead, the fruit would become a potential weapon in the fight against the globally devastating Panama tropical race 4 (TR4) disease, a fungus threatening the multibillion-dollar Cavendish banana industry.

Professor James Dale, leader of the banana biotechnology program at the Queensland University of Technology, said the fungus could stay in the soil "for probably more than 50 years".

"So once a plantation becomes infected, then essentially it's infected for the foreseeable future," he said.

Professor Dale's team has been working on the project since the turn of the century.

"We found a resistant gene in a banana called Musa acuminata ssp malaccensis. It's a wild banana that occurs in a number of parts of south-east Asia," he said.

"We did lots of field trials and these were all done up in the Northern Territory, where the disease now is endemic."

For Professor Dale, progressing the banana to the approval phase was an extremely proud moment.

"It's incredible, when you start these sorts of projects, you're dreaming about actually having a product at the end," he said.

Are GM bananas safe to eat?

Historically, GM food has been met with caution by both consumers and regulators in Australia.

But Professor Dale said these bananas were safe — and would not taste any different either.

"We're using banana genes," he said.

"We have just moved one gene from a wild banana into the Cavendish, and it's not a gene that has anything to do with fruit flavour or texture, it's a resistance gene.

"Now, I know that doesn't necessarily make it much easier for people to accept GM.

"But we're not doing anything too crazy, we're just moving banana genes between bananas."

The banana, named QCAV-4, is also the first Australian fresh fruit to be submitted to Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator for assessment.

Global significance

In Australia, 97 per cent of bananas are grown in Queensland with the majority grown in the Far North around the Atherton Tablelands, Innisfail and in the Tully Valley.

In 2015, Panama TR4 was recorded in the Tully Valley but the movement of the disease has been restricted.

Professor Dale estimates the global export market of the Cavendish banana to be worth $US20 billion annually.

But the cost of Panama TR4 is much greater.

"Globally, this disease is considered the greatest threat to the continued production of Cavendish worldwide," he said.

"The cost [of Panama TR4] would be massive … the potential is in the billions of dollars per year."

A 'backup' option

If approved, Professor Dale said the QCAV-4 would not be commercially released.

Dr Rosie Godwin, the research and development manager at the Australian Banana Growers Council, said the GM bananas were not needed.

"It's not something that we really need to rely on at the moment because Panama TR4 is quite contained within the industry," she said.

"There's no reason for them [banana growers] to change unless they really had to.

"It's just one of the tools that we've got in our toolbox to help us manage it."

While these bananas might be sticking to the sidelines, Professor Dale says they are vital in the race to beat the deadly fungal disease.

"This is the safety net for the Australian industry," he said.

"We've got this banana on the interchange bench."

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