Bananas may soon be a thing of the past, as scientists are warning that the popular fruit may be on the verge of extinction thanks to a fungus that’s been ravaging the crops.
That’s according to Business Insider, which revealed that a fungal disease is threatening to wipe out the Cavendish banana, which is responsible for about 47 percent of all crops all over the world.
The fungus is known as the Panama Disease (Fusarium wilt) tropical race 4, and it starts at the root of the plant and eventually devours the rest of it.
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The Cavendish banana has already dominated the global fruit market for a wide variety of reasons, but mostly because of their longer shelf life and resistance to most bacteria.
That’s why the threat of the deadly fungus is such a scary one — and it’s one that could threaten the food ecosystem as we know it.
While total devastation is a few years off, scientists are warning about the necessity to step up now and take care of the matter before it does get out of control.
“The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic,” said one
Thanks to the miracle of genetic engineering, though, science may be able to get ahead of the deadly fungus.
Scientists have already told the outlet that they’ve developed a genetically modified version of the Cavendish banana, called QCAV-4, which is resistant to the virus.
The University of Cambridge has also announced that they’re using what’s known as a grafting technique — which is where tissue from one plant is transplanted onto another, which also helps with the resistance against the potentially devastating fungus.
“It’s true that there is some resistance, but I’d say right now, nobody is even close to solving the problem,” another scientist told the outlet. “The answer is going to be the end of monoculture. The answer is variety.”
