Overview
- Researchers led by Dr. Andrew Chen and Professor Elizabeth Aitken identified a genomic region in Calcutta 4 that confers resistance to Fusarium wilt Sub Tropical Race 4 (STR4).
- The finding, published in Horticulture Research, localizes the resistance to chromosome 5 and represents the first genetic dissection of Race 4 resistance from this wild subspecies.
- The team completed a five-year program using forward genetics, genome sequencing, and bulked segregant analysis, growing each banana generation for about 12 months before testing.
- Calcutta 4 provides crucial resistance but is not suitable for eating, so breeders aim to develop molecular markers to track the trait and accelerate selection of commercially acceptable lines.
- STR4 threatens bananas in subtropical regions and is a genetic variant of Tropical Race 4 found in Australia, and the work was funded by Hort Innovation and the Australian Government to support translation into breeder tools.