Enhancing banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) resistance by plant genetic modification: A perspective

Abstract

Banana weevil is a serious pest of bananas and plantains in Africa. The development of resistant cultivars is seen as the long term and more sustainable control strategy. The difficulty in conventional breeding of bananas and plantains has prompted efforts towards the use of genetic transformation for banana and plantain improvement. In this review, the current status of banana weevil resistance, sources of resistance and resistance mechanisms is assessed. Further, current efforts and future prospects for identifying resistance genes outside the genus Musa with potential to control banana weevil in a transgenic approach are outlined and discussed.


Key words: Banana weevil, host plant resistance, pest resistance genes, transgenic plants


African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 563-569, December 2003