Almost all of the global banana exports come from this variety, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the U.K. Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4) with external symptoms of FWB in Cavendish banana. Credit: Zhang et al.

About 170 of Mr. Sachter-Smith’s finds reside in the International Musa Germplasm Transit Center, a gene bank in Belgium that safeguards the in vitro DNA of more than 1,600 banana varieties for ...