Why bananas may be threatened with extinction

A wild banana that may be crucial for the protection of edible banana plantations has been placed on the list of threatened species.

It only exists in Madagascar, Africa, where the last five adult feet of the plant are in the wild

Scientists say the species must be preserved as it can contain the secret to keep bananas safe in the future.

Most bananas consumed by the world are of the Cavendish type, the banana nanica group. These bananas are particularly vulnerable to a parasite known as Panama's disease. Bananas with silver and apples, very popular in Brazil, are also prone to the disease.

Researchers are trying to develop new varieties that are both tasty and resistant to the pest.

The wild banana of Madagascar has developed isolated, since the country is an island in the Indian Ocean, and may have particular properties.

Richard Allen, an adviser at the Royal Botanic Garden in Kew, London, says the species ( Ensete perrieri) may have developed resistance to drought and malaria in Panama.

"She does not suffer from the harm of Panama, so maybe she has genetic traits that protect her from the disease," she says.

"We will not know until we are looking for banana, but we will not be able to do the research until it is safe."

Botanical garden researchers searched the plant in Madagascar.

They hope that the inscription of the species on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature will bring visibility to the theme.

Hélène Ralimanana from the London Botanical Garden explains that the plant integrates the rich ecosystem of Madagascar.

"It is very important to conserve wild banana because it has large seeds that can offer an opportunity to find a gene that enhances banana cultivation," he said.

If the wild banana is protected, it will be possible to harvest the seeds and analyze the genetic composition of the plant.

Madagascar banana produces seeds inside the fruit, that is to say that it is not edible.

But crosses with the plant can generate a new type of edible and resistant banana.

Why are bananas vulnerable to disease?

Bananas breed by cloning, so that there is little genetic variation between their different types.

If the disease reaches a plant, it can quickly affect the entire population of that variety.

For now, the markets offer fruit in abundance. But the situation could change in the future.

The disease that attacks Cavendish is, for the moment, confined to Asia. If you arrive in the Americas, you can liquidate plantations all over the world.

This has already occurred in the 1950s with a type of banana called Gros Michel. It is believed that American trumpet player Louis Prima's song "Yes! We Have No Bananas" was inspired by the lack of Gros Michel bananas, affected by the same fungus behind Panama disease.

These bananas were replaced by the Cavendish, named after William Cavendish, the sixth Duke of Devonshire, England.