A digital catalog of high-density markers for banana germplasm collections

Societal Impact Statement Global production of bananas, among the top 10 food crops worldwide, is under threat. Increasing the use of germplasm conserved in genebanks is crucial. However, the lack of or difficult access to genetic diversity information limits the efficient utilization of these valuable resources. Here, we present a digital catalog of high-density markers for banana germplasm conserved at the international banana collection. By facilitating access to subsets of genetic diversity information, the catalog has potential to maximize conservation and use of climate-ready varieties and to optimize breeding strategies. The catalog is extendable with data from any banana collection and the software is easily deployable in other crop genebanks.

Automated summary

This research introduces a digital catalog of high-density markers for banana germplasm to facilitate access to genetic diversity information, aim at maximizing conservation and use of climate-ready varieties.