Extinction No Longer Just Animals, It's Hitting the Bananas Next

When I think of the word extinction I picture things like the dinosaurs, the dodo bird, and the Woolly Mammoth. I never classified plants as something that can go extinct, that is until I read a article in the monthly edition of Popular Science. As I was flipping through the pages a picture caught my attention. Taking up the full page was a bright yellow banana, the fruit was being displayed as if it where on a surgery table being operated on with a shiny metallic surgical knife. The peel was sliced from the top of the banana to the bottom reveling its cream colored insides. The title on the page opposite the banana read Can This Fruit Be Saved. I was confused thinking to myself "what is so important about protecting that one banana." After reading into the article a few paragraphs I learned that the banana I take for granted everyday (one of countless species of bananas) is called a Cavendish and is on a path towards extinction and there is little we can to do prevent the catastrophe.

I also learned within the first few paragraphs of the Popular Science magazine that this isn't the first banana species destined to drop off the face of the planet. It turns out that the Cavendish is a substitute for a banana known as the Gros Michel or "Big Mike." Big Mike saw his last days in the 1960's when he was eradicated completely by a Fungus commonly called Panama disease. Panama disease first started to desolate Big Mike farms in the 1920's and eventually spread around the world till Mike no longer existed. Once a tree would contract the fungus it's leaves would quickly wither and die. Without the leaves there is no way to produce food through photosynthesis and the plant quickly dies. Before the tree becomes another casualty any fruit would spoil under the sun without shade from the guardian leaves.

In order to keep the market for bananas alive the Cavendish was installed as the new Big Mike. Although the Cavendish is smaller and not as sweet as the departed Big Mike it is resistant to the fungus that caused much damage to the banana market in the early twentieth century. Since its inauguration the Cavendish has been the banana of choice in North America and Europe. While in America the Cavendish is the favorite genus, in Africa much more hardier bananas are preferred by the population, since most of the inhabitants get a quarter of their nutrition from bananas.

Now, a half-century after Big Mike was eradicated, it seems the Cavendish is threatened with the same fate of its predecessor. In the early 1990's a new class of panama disease was discovered in Asia. Since it's discovery Panama disease (race 4) has traveled from continent to continent-destroying grove after grove. Recently other species of bananas have been vulnerable to other new fungus devastation (mostly affecting African regions whose diet relies on the precious fruit.)

The outbreak is hard to prevent because flying insects will travel from an infected source to another tree. The fungus is also spread through using tools of the banana trade that have been exposed to the organism that are reused on healthy plants. The Cavendish and other species alike are so vulnerable because of human error. Bananas are so defenseless because they have been cultivated for generations resulting in little genetic variations that would help the immunity to parasites and funguses that pose a threat.

Many solutions for battling this epidemic are well underway. The first step taken was to destroy all plantations that were infected and start new ones on soil that has not yet been corrupted. Unfortunately, this technique has not been effective because the plague is too efficient. All it has done is destroyed more and more land in places like the rain forest because the new groves get sick only after a few years of production, pushing farmers to fresh land time and time again.

The second popular solution, which should bear results, is to construct a new species of banana that is able to stand up against panama disease and other fungus that would cripple the plant. Regrettably this is a long process; it requires farmers to pollinate one type of breed with pollen from another species. Banana seeds are highly rare so even after you create a hybrid seed you have to find it, and your chances of getting a seed is one in ten thousand. Even after you might find a seed the chances of it producing a fruit that is a good replacement for the Cavendish are slim. There are already a few bananas that seem like good candidates for replacing the Cavendish, some are sweeter, others are more tart.

Another strategy for the banana problem is a little easier than creating hybrids. Biologist are working with science to genetically alter a bananas gene. By altering the genes they can make the plant less susceptible to parasites, funguses, and insects. They can also make the bananas more nutritious, enriching the vitamins and minerals within the fruit. Genetically modified bananas might not be excepted in the market place because many consumers are against eating genetically modified foods. By making a banana more nutritious would be very beneficial for the people of Africa whose diets rely so much upon the most consumed fruit on the planet.

Whether the Cavendish is gone in two years or ten it will still go extinct. Although bananas are one of my favorite foods, I am not worried because there are so many other species that can replace the "American Banana." I will admit I will miss it's creamy taste, but at the same time I am excited to try a new banana to see how it will compare. Bibliography

Furniss, Charlie. Battling the BANANA PLAGUE." Geographical. Feb. 2007: vol.79

Issue 2, p60-4. Academic Search Premier. EBscohost. Circle Publishing Ltd. Rohrbach Lib. 2 Mar. 2007http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/delivery.

Koeppel, Dan. "Can This Fruit Be Saved." Popular Science. 2005. Popular Science.

2 Mar. 2007http://www.popsci.com.

Schroeder, Charles A., J.E. Dimitman. "Banana." Access Science. 6 April 2001http://www.accessscience.com/. 2 Mar. 2007