Banana Xanthomonas wilt is a newly emerging disease that is currently threatening the livelihoods of millions of farmers in East Africa. The causative agent is Xanthomonas campestris pathovar musacearum (Xcm), but previous work suggests that this pathogen is much more closely related to species Xanthomonas vasicola than to X. campestris. We have generated draft genome sequences for a banana-pat...

During banana (Musa acuminata L.) fruit ripening ethylene production triggers a developmental cascade that is accompanied by a massive conversion of starch to sugars, an associated burst of respiratory activity, and an increase in protein synthesis. Differential screening of cDNA libraries representing banana pulp at ripening stages 1 and 3 has led to the isolation of 11 nonredundant groups of ...

Objective: Enzymes like oxalate oxidase (EC 1.2.3.4) and superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) from germin family are known to generate active oxygen species. In the mammalian system, excess accumulations of oxalate causes kidney stones. Oxalate oxidase, an H2O2-generating enzyme, used for detection of oxalate. The aim of the present work is to screen out the activity of enzymes from all three sta...

Crown rot caused by fungal pathogen is the most prevalent postharvest disease in banana fruit that results significant economic losses during transportation, storage, and ripening period. Antifungal effects of ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation at doses varied from 0.01 to 0.30 kJ m-2 were investigated in controlling postharvest crown rot disease, maintenance of fruit quality, and the effects on a...

First report on the production of protease through fed batch cultivation using co-culture of Pseudomonas putida and Staphylococcus aureus from a crude carbon source, banana peel. Batch production by using synthetic medium, impact of some of the process parameters on cell growth and alkaline protease activity was investigated and the optimized values were found to be inoculum size of 5 % (v/v), ...

The MADS-box family of genes has been shown to play a significant role in the development of reproductive organs, including dry and fleshy fruits. In this study, the molecular properties of an AGAMOUS like MADS box transcription factor in banana cultivar Giant governor (Musa sp, AAA group, subgroup Cavendish) has been elucidated. We have detected a CArG-box sequence binding AGAMOUS MADS-box pro...

Background. Ralstonia solanacearum is an economically important plant pathogen with an unusually large host range. The Moko (banana) and NPB (not pathogenic to banana) strain groups are closely related but are adapted to distinct hosts. Previous comparative genomics studies uncovered very few differences that could account for the host range difference between these pathotypes. To better unders...

Phytoene synthase (PSY) is a key regulatory enzyme of carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in plants. The present study examines the role of PSY in carotenogenesis and stress management in banana. Germplasm screening of 10 Indian cultivars showed that Nendran (3011.94 μg/100 g dry weight) and Rasthali (105.35 μg/100 g dry weight) contained the highest and lowest amounts of β-carotene, respectively i...

Banana peel; Chromium; Low-cost; Acrylonitrile; Grafting Abstract The adsorptive removal of hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions was investigated by acrylonitrile grafted banana peels (GBPs). Banana peels were treated with 10% HCl, followed by alkaline hydrolysis with 10% NaOH, and washed thoroughly. The bleaching of alkali hydrolyzed peels was carried out with sodium chlorate (NaC...

WRKY transcription factors are specifically involved in the transcriptional reprogramming following incidence of abiotic or biotic stress on plants. We have previously documented a novel WRKY gene from banana, MusaWRKY71, which was inducible in response to a wide array of abiotic or biotic stress stimuli. The present work details the effects of MusaWRKY71 overexpression in transgenic banana pla...