DNA TEST DETECTS GLOBAL THREAT TO BANANA FARMING

摘要

DETECTING the dreaded Panama disease in banana plants could come down to a one-day test. Scientists from the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen UR in the Netherlands and the Brazilian research organisation Embrapa have developed a rapid DNA diagnosticto test banana plants for Panama disease. Published in the magazine Plant Pathology, the method only requires a day to detect and identify the presence of Tropical Race 4, the most devastating strain of the Fusarium fungus that causes Panama disease inbanana plantations.