Life saving bananas!

In the Western world banana is looked upon as a cheap and healthy fruit. Its availability is taken for granted. Elsewhere, especially in the tropics, banana is a staple food and accounts for a significant part of one's calorific input. However, there are two major issues today. Banana is threatened by two major diseases, a bacterial and a fungal disease. Unfortunately, banana is clonally propagated and there are limited sources of resistance. Moreover, banana is also low in vitamin A and thus vitamin A deficiency is high in many children in Africa. With new gene-editing technologies, it is possible to address these issues that impact both nutritional and food security. This MIBTP PhD project will look at the only realistic option for banana improvement - gene editing. Specifically, gene editing biochemical pathways to enhance vitamin A content.