Filling the gaps in gene banks: collecting, characterizing and phenotyping wild banana relatives of Papua New Guinea

Since natural habitats are disappearing fast, there is an urgent need to collect, characterize and phenotype banana crop wild relatives to identify unique alleles/traits that fill the gaps in our gene banks. We report a collection mission in Papua New Guinea carried out in 2019. Seed containing bunches were collected from Musa peekelii ssp. angustigemma (3), M. schizocarpa (4), M. balbisiana (3) M. acuminata ssp. banksii (14), M. boman (3), M. ingens (2), M. maclayi ssp. maclayi (1) and M. lolodensis (1). This material together with the individuals collected during a previous mission in 2017 forms the basis of a wild banana gene bank. For characterization and phenotyping, we focused on the most ubiquitous indigenous species of Papua New Guinea: M. acuminata ssp. banksii, the ancestor of most edible bananas. We calculated that the median dissimilarity in genome of the M. acuminata ssp. banksii accessions collected in 2017 was 4 % and that they differed at least 5 to 7 % from accessions present in the International Transit Centre, the world’s largest banana gene bank. High throughput phenotyping revealed genotype-specific drought avoidance strategies with significant differences in shoot:root ratio, soil water content sensitivity and response towards vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and light. We deliver a proof of principle that the wild diversity is not yet fully covered in the gene banks and that wild populations contain unique alleles and traits, useful for breeding programs.

Publication year:2020

Accessibility:Open