Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region have become the center of diversity for cultivated bananas and their wild relatives. Bananas with the highest diversity, both wild and cultivated, serve as a gene pool for banana breeding. The following study examined a sterile wild banana (Musa acuminata var. microcarpa Becc.) Nasution, accession LIPI-464, originating from Kalimantan, Indonesia. The said accession produces female flowers with no seeds. Observing the chromosome during metaphase I of meiosis of the pollen mother cells revealed abnormal chromosome configurations, such as univalent and trivalent, which suggested chromosomal translocation. The chromosomal translocation also reduces fertility. Despite showing high pollen viability using a staining test, pollination experiments showed seedless fruits, which confirmed the sterility of the accession. In this study, pollens with incomplete dissolved callose walls were evident, along with genetic abnormality in the degradation of callose walls during pollen development. This wild banana accession serves as a valuable resource for understanding the mechanism of sterility in bananas and the impact of chromosomal translocation on seed production, requiring considerations in future breeding programs on bananas.
Musa acuminata var. microcarpa Becc., wild Musa diversity, sterility, meiosis, chromosome segregation, chromosomal abnormalities, seedless fruits
This study is a new report on the wild sterile banana (Musa acuminata) with all its characteristics and will shed light on the evolution of the banana from fertile to sterile seedless banana.