ABSTRACT
Biotechnology can greatly impact the genetic improvement of vegetatively propagated crops. Bananas and plantains are staple foods for millions of people in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation has also been achieved. Transformation has made it possible to introduce valuable agronomic traits for pest and disease resistance, fruit maturation, and storage into banana. Tissue culture is useful in germplasm conservation of bananas since most cultivars are seedless. The main disadvantage of this method is the propensity for somaclonal variation. Recent advances in genetic engineering offer ways to transfer a resistance gene found in any plant into crop varieties without changing other favorable traits. Hypersensitive response-assisting protein is a novel plant protein that can intensify the harpinPss-mediated hypersensitive response in plants. Genomic analysis and genetic linkage mapping are needed to identify the genes responsible for natural variation in nutrient levels of common foods.
