US-based Elo Life Systems, a biotech company targeting food sustainability, is tapping into gene-editing to save Cavendish bananas from a fungus that could potentially wipe out the species.

On a Dole banana plantation in Central America, a field trial is being set up to test Cavendish bananas that have been gene-edited in an attempt to help them survive the fungus.

Moreover, with Elo’s research, the company has been able to identify solutions using its plant genetics and data analytics expertise to compare more than 50 genomes of banana varieties and other related crops.

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Since it takes time for the trees to grow, the new plants at the Dole plantation are not ready to show success.

However, in lab trials, the gene-edited bananas survived high doses of the fungus. They’ll now go on to be grown and tested in Dole’s nurseries, and then moved into fields that are not in use because they’re infected with the fungus.

By the end of this year, researchers should know whether the plants can survive and perform as well as the original banana trees. Other startups are also racing to test gene-edited bananas.

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