Black Sigatoka resistant banana varieties

黑叶斑病（BSD）是一种空气传播的真菌病，严重影响东非香蕉作物的生产。BSD的典型管理依赖于整个生长季节频繁（每周）的杀菌剂处理。然而，在东非，许多资源有限的自给农民无法使用杀真菌剂，而且在使用时，杀真菌剂会对环境和健康造成重大危害。在香蕉产业中，通过高产作物提高抗病性是极具挑战性的。由于卡文迪什香蕉是三倍体和不育的，因此不能通过传统的杂交育种生产新的香蕉品种。与IITA合作，我们将在相关的经济和环境环境中开发和展示2种新的非转基因抗BSD香蕉品种（大奈、矮卡文迪什）。使用我们专有的GEiGS和NTC系统，我们将利用植物细胞内的RNAi创建可编程的BSD抗性，使东非种植者（特别是乌干达，肯尼亚，坦桑尼亚）通过缩短单株间距和减少收获损失（BSD可以摧毁高达60%的收获重量）提高生产力（10-25%）。

Black Sigatoka disease (BSD) is an airborne fungal disease which cripples E. African banana crop production. Typical management of BSD relies on frequent (weekly) fungicide treatments throughout the growing season. However, in E. African the use of fungicides is beyond the reach of many resource-constrained subsistence farmers, and when they are used, fungicides present significant environmental and health hazards. Improving disease resistance through high performance crops is extremely challenging in the banana industry. New banana varieties cannot be produced through conventional cross-breeding as Cavendish bananas are triploid and sterile. In partnership with the IITA we will develop and demonstrate, 2 new non-transgenic BSD resistant varieties of banana (Grand Naine, Dwarf Cavendish) in a relevant economic and environmental setting. Using our proprietary GEiGS and NTC systems we will create programmable resistance to BSD utilizing RNAi within the plant cell, enabling E. African growers (notably in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) increased productivity (10-25%) by enabling closer spacing of individual plants and reduced harvest loss (BSD can decimate upto 60% of harvest weight).