Team:UMaryland
An Apeeling Solution to Panama Disease
Projects
Saving the Cavendish banana
Outreach
Increasing access to synthetic biology for high schools
PartsModelingNotebook
About Us
Learn more about UMaryland iGEM
← Projects
From saving the Cavendish to expanding synthetic biology
An Appeling Solution
to save the Cavendish
Cas9 Mutant Screening
Screening for mutants using CRISPR/Cas9
Lab-in-a-box
Low cost DIY lab equipment
Metal Detection
Teaching synthetic biology using real world examples
← Outreach
Reaching out to the community about synthetic biology
Knowing Panama Disease
Feedback, concerns, and feasiblity
Teaching the Next Generation
of synthetic biologists
Talking with the Community
about synthetic biology
← About Us
UMaryland iGEM - Since 2014
Students
The next generation of scientists
Advisors
Guiding our efforts
Funding
Providing support for the team
Acknowl-edgements
Those who helped us get here
← Application
Contributing to the scientific community
Parts
Contributions to the Registry
Modeling
Applying engineering principles
Notebook
Follow our progress throughout our experience
The banana is the most popular fruit in the world, with a whopping 160 million tons produced annually. In America, we think of the banana as a fruit, something we love but could live without. However, the same cannot be said for over 400 million people in poor countries. These individuals rely on bananas as their biggest, and sometimes, sole source of calories and nutrition. Terrifyingly enough, 7% of the world’s population could lose its sole source of food as the banana crop is being ravaged by a devastating pandemic: Panama disease.
Panama disease is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense race 4, which is deadly to the Cavendish banana. This fungus is able to first infect the roots of the plant, secreting different hydrolytic enzymes, and subsequently infect the xylem, blocking water and nutrient flow, leading to the death of the plant (Dong, Chunyu Li). Symptoms, however, are typically not visible until four months after infection, providing ample time for the fungus to spread without notice. (http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/24621, http://www.promusa.org/Fusarium+wilt ). Additionally, the fungus remains in the soil in the form of spores for up to a decade, ready to infect the next set of plants. Therefore, there is a need to develop a method of protecting the Cavendish banana from Fusarium oxysporum and eliminating the fungus from the soil.
