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The cultivation of bananas is believed to have started approximately 10,000 years ago. Today, bananas are a valuable crop grown in more than 107 countries with a total global production of 72.5 million metric tonnes in 2005. In Malaysia, an estimated 535,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2006.
Bananas and plantains, both belonging to the genus Musa, are herbaceous plants native to Southeast Asia. They are cultivated primarily for their fruit, which is either eaten raw or used in cooking, although they do have other uses, such as fibre for textiles and paper. In addition to their nutritional value (bananas are high in vitamins B6 and C, and potassium), bananas also have a place in the traditional treatment of kidney stones and in the treatment of jaundice.
Like many other crops, however, bananas are highly susceptible to pests and diseases. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that they are mainly propagated asexually, which has led to a lack of genetic diversity and subsequently, a lack of disease resistance in planted cultivars.
Hope may lie in a completely mapped banana genome, which will be vital for the development and discovery of novel disease-resistant banana varieties. To get to this point, studies on the diversity and molecular biology of wild bananas must be conducted. This includes gene discovery and comparative genomics analyses.
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