Bananas (as we know them) may go extinct

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Hello. We all love bananas (why else would you have this in your sortie?). But the banana as we know it may not be able to last much longer. The cause? Not global warming or industrialization, but a disease. Panama disease attacks banana roots, and is a highly contagious fungus. It can ruin entire crops of bananas. Not fun at all. We no longer have the Gros Michel banana because of this disease. Up until the 1950s we had a type of banana called the Gros Michel or "big Mike" which was popular and better suited for exportation because of its thicker skin. It also, according to many people, tasted better. Unfortunately many Gros Michel producers were infected with Panama disease and we now have the Cavendish banana. The problem is that although the Cavendish is more resistant to Panama disease than the Gros Michel, the disease continues to mutate while the banana does not! Bananas are little more than clones, which propagate mainly by root. Because of this bananas all have very similar DNA and all are, and will probably continue to be, susceptible to this fungus. While our banana supplies are now stable, it may not last forever. An article about it (I've read a few and they mostly have the same info) www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-06/can-fruit-be-saved So what do you think? Maybe genetic modification is needed? It has been used successfully on many foods. Or maybe we should just be very careful? Discuss! Dan