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of research at Chiquita, one of the Big Three companies that dominate the international
banana trade.
H Last year, a global consortium of scientists led by Frison announced plans to sequence
the banana genome within five years. It would be the first edible fruit to be sequenced.
Well, almost edible. The group will actually be sequencing inedible wild bananas from
East Asia because many of these are resistant to black Sigatoka. If they can pinpoint the
genes that help these wild varieties to resist black Sigatoka, the protective genes could
be introduced into laboratory tissue cultures of cells from edible varieties. These could
then be propagated into new, resistant plants and passed on to farmers.
I It sounds promising, but the big banana companies have, until now, refused to get
involved in GM research for fear of alienating their customers. "Biotechnology is extremely
expensive and there are serious questions about consumer acceptance,
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says David
McLaughlin, Chiquita's senior director for environmental affairs. With scant funding from
the companies, the banana genome researchers are focusing on the other end of the
spectrum. Even if they can identify the crucial genes, they will be a long way from
developing new varieties that smallholders will find suitable and affordable. But whatever
biotechnology’s academic interest, it is the only hope for the banana. Without banana
production worldwide will head into a tailspin. We may even see the extinction of the
banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and as the most popular
product on the world's supermarket shelves.
Questions 1-3 Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the
passage.
In boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet, write
Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet
1. Banana was first eaten as a fruit by humans .................................years ago.
