Saturday, December 4, 2010

Banana'a are Infertile Hybrids

It may surprise you to learn that banana's are actually not a product of nature at all.  They are a result of cross-breeding between two different species of plants.  To breed banana's, you cut pieces of root and cultivate it, essentially cloning the plant.




Since all banana's are clones, this means that they are all genetically identical.  That's right, every banana on earth is genetically exactly the same as every other banana on earth.  While this keep's flavor and texture consistent, it has the unfortunate side effect of making  banana's very susceptible to diseases.  In fact, the most common banana sold prior the 50's is actually extinct now due to a fungus that spread through the plantations.  This brings up the obvious question of what happens if this were to happen with our current banana plantations?

2 comments:

  1. That makes a lot of sense yet I've tasted a lot of bananas with different taste but I guess it's due to other factors than genetic!

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