Farmers have a green light to grow the first genetically modified banana. The wilt-proof strain of the Cavendish banana developed by researchers from the Queensland University of Technology is resistant to Panama disease (Fusarium wilt), a devastating fungus. The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator in Australia gave the go-ahead on 12 February to allow the genetically modified banana to be grown commercially. The banana is modified to resist the tropical race 4 (TR4) fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, a soil-borne pathogen that attacks the roots of the banana, causing it to wilt. The fungus is aggressive and destructive and has spread to several countries worldwide. It affects many varieties, including Cavendish, which are half the global banana supply.

The wilt-resistant banana emerged from a chance observation. The Queensland scientists noticed a wild variety (Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis) of banana thriving in a plantation devastated by the disease. Although the malaccensis banana is not used commercially because it has too little flesh and its yield is low, certain variations in its RGA2 gene — also present but inactive in the Cavendish strain — allowed it to resist the fungus.

农民们获得了种植第一批转基因香蕉的许可。昆士兰科技大学的研究人员开发的卡文迪什香蕉抗枯萎菌株能够抵抗巴拿马病（镰刀菌枯萎病），这是一种毁灭性的真菌。澳大利亚基因技术监管办公室于 2 月 12 日批准转基因香蕉商业化种植。香蕉经过改良可以抵抗热带 4 号 (TR4) 真菌尖孢镰刀菌 ( Fusarium oxysporum f)。 sp。cubense是一种土传病原体，会攻击香蕉的根部，导致其枯萎。这种真菌具有攻击性和破坏性，已传播到全球多个国家。它影响了许多品种，包括占全球香蕉供应量一半的卡文迪什。

抗枯萎病香蕉是在一次偶然的观察中诞生的。昆士兰科学家注意到，一种野生香蕉品种（Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis）在被该病破坏的种植园中茁壮成长。尽管Malaccensis香蕉由于果肉太少且产量低而未在商业上使用，但其RGA2基因的某些变异（在卡文迪什香蕉中也存在但不活跃）使其能够抵抗真菌。