CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated editing of DMR6 orthologue in banana (Musa spp.) confers enhanced resistance to bacterial disease

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important staple food crop and a source of income for resource-poor farmers in more than 136 tropical and sub-tropical countries with an annual production of 155 million tons (FAOSTAT, 2018). Many diseases severely constrain banana production, particularly where many pathogens co-exist (Tripathi et al., 2020). Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm) is considered among the most destructive banana diseases in East and Central Africa (Tripathi et al., 2009). All the cultivated banana varieties are susceptible, and only the wild-type progenitor, Musa balbisiana, is resistant to BXW disease (Tripathi et al., 2019). Overall economic losses from BXW were estimated at US$ 2-8 billion over a decade. The use of disease-resistant varieties is one of the most effective strategies to manage diseases. Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas-based genome-editing can accelerate banana improvement. The availability of reference genome-sequences and the CRISPR/Cas9-editing system has made it possible to develop disease-resistant banana by precisely editing the endogenous genes (Ntui et al., 2020).