Source of durian’s unique traits revealed
PARIS: Once described by a detractor as smelling of “turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock”, durians leave no one unmoved — you either adore or abhor it.
Popular in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the spiky, stinky fruit is banned from public transport and many hotels.
Yet, for a food so controversial, very little was known about the durian’s genetic makeup, until now.
On Monday, scientists from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia published the DNA blueprint of the common durian, Durio zibethinus, laying bare the genes responsible for its unique traits.
Such data “is vital to better understanding of durian biodiversity”, the team wrote in the journal Nature Genetics.
While some may wish they had never caught a whiff of durian, others are concerned that several species are considered endangered or vulnerable. Knowing more about the plant’s DNA may help protect it.
There are 30 known species in the Durio family, with D. zibethinus the most widely consumed.
The thorn-covered fruit, yellow-green in colour, can grow to the size of a rugby ball.
More than 250,000ha of land, an area about the size of Luxembourg, was devoted to durian cultivation in 2008, according to the study authors.
“Durian is also of major economic value as it has recently gained market penetration in China,” they wrote.
In 2016, durian imports to China accounted for about US$600 million (RM2.53 billion) compared with about US$200 million for oranges, another key commodity. AFP