關(guān)于香蕉正瀕臨滅絕境地的報(bào)道很有可能被嚴(yán)重夸大了,。至少這是一個(gè)科學(xué)家小組所希望的,。這個(gè)小組的科學(xué)家終于完成了香蕉基因組的測(cè)序，并指望借此來(lái)獲得新的抗性基因,，以使香蕉免遭它的兩個(gè)真菌“敵人”——黃葉病和黑斑病的侵襲,。
世界上超過(guò)一半的香蕉和幾乎所有出口到美國(guó)和歐洲的香蕉，都屬于一種名為“卡文迪許”的香蕉,。
“卡文迪許”香蕉沒(méi)有種子,，不能進(jìn)行有性繁殖。這意味著所有香蕉的基因都是相同的,，而且都同樣容易受到真菌的威脅,。
同時(shí)，“卡文迪許”香蕉擁有三條染色體,，這使得它的基因組測(cè)序非常困難,。
因此，在一項(xiàng)于7月12日在線發(fā)表在《自然》（Nature）志上的最新研究中,，研究人員對(duì)另一個(gè)被稱為DH Pahang的香蕉品種的基因組進(jìn)行了測(cè)序,。
DH Pahang香蕉是形成“卡文迪許”品種的三種香蕉之一，而且它對(duì)威脅“卡文迪許”香蕉的黃葉病具有很強(qiáng)的抵抗力,。
更重要的是,，正如右圖中DH Pahang香蕉的種子所示，它有著完整的“性生活”,。這意味著,，DH Pahang香蕉可以被用來(lái)培育新的品種，或許其生命力要比今天的香蕉更為頑強(qiáng),。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1038/nature11241
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The banana (Musa acuminata) genome and the evolution of monocotyledonous plants
Angélique D’Hont; France Denoeud; Jean-Marc Aury; Franc-Christophe Baurens; Fran?oise Carreel; Olivier Garsmeur; Benjamin Noel; Stéphanie Bocs; Ga?tan Droc; Mathieu Rouard; Corinne Da Silva; Kamel Jabbari; Céline Cardi; Julie Poulain; Marlène Souquet; Karine Labadie; Cyril Jourda; Juliette Lengellé; Marguerite Rodier-Goud; Adriana Alberti; Maria Bernard; Margot Correa; Saravanaraj Ayyampalayam; Michael R. Mckain; Jim Leebens-Mack; D
Bananas (Musa spp.), including dessert and cooking types, are giant perennial monocotyledonous herbs of the order Zingiberales, a sister group to the well-studied Poales, which include cereals. Bananas are vital for food security in many tropical and subtropical countries and the most popular fruit in industrialized countries1. The Musa domestication process started some 7,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. It involved hybridizations between diverse species and subspecies, fostered by human migrations2, and selection of diploid and triploid seedless, parthenocarpic hybrids thereafter widely dispersed by vegetative propagation. Half of the current production relies on somaclones derived from a single triploid genotype (Cavendish)1. Pests and diseases have gradually become adapted, representing an imminent danger for global banana production3, 4. Here we describe the draft sequence of the 523-megabase genome of a Musa acuminata doubled-haploid genotype, providing a crucial stepping-stone for genetic improvement of banana. We detected three rounds of whole-genome duplications in the Musa lineage, independently of those previously described in the Poales lineage and the one we detected in the Arecales lineage. This first monocotyledon high-continuity whole-genome sequence reported outside Poales represents an essential bridge for comparative genome analysis in plants. As such, it clarifies commelinid-monocotyledon phylogenetic relationships, reveals Poaceae-specific features and has led to the discovery of conserved non-coding sequences predating monocotyledon–eudicotyledon divergence.
