Bananas are a staple food for over 500 million people and are also an important cash crop.
Fusarium wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense is one of the most
destructive diseases of banana globally. Since the 1990s an aggressive variant of this fungus
called Tropical Race 4 (TR4) severely affected banana plantations in Southeast Asia from where
it spread to other continents including Latin America where the global banana export market
is primarily centred. TR4 is a soil borne pathogen making the disease difficult to contain. The
Joint FAO IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture implemented a Coordinated
Research Project (CRP) 'Efficient Screening Techniques to Identify Mutants with Disease
Resistance for Coffee and Banana (2015-2020). This CRP brought together experts from Asia
Europe and Africa in addition to experts of the Joint FAO IAEA Centre to develop resistance
against TR4 through mutation-assisted breeding. Induced mutagenesis is particularly attractive
in case of banana since most cultivated bananas are seedless thus hampering conventional cross
breeding. This Open Access book is a compilation of the protocols developed under the CRP
specifically for TR4. The first part covers methods for mutation induction including the
integrated use of innovative single-cell culture with mutagenesis techniques. The book also
describes up-to-date phenotypic screening methods for TR4 resistance in banana under field-
greenhouse- and laboratory conditions. Finally molecular and bioinformatics tools for
genome-wide mutation discovery following Next Generation Sequencing are also described. Given
the imminent threat of Fusarium Wilt TR4 on banana production globally it is our hope and
intention that the book will serve as a timely reference and guide for banana breeders and
pathologists worldwide who are committed to the genetic improvement of banana for Fusarium wilt
resistance.
