The beloved banana may be under threat

Australia's highest selling supermarket product, the banana, could be extinct within a decade according to new research.

The threat is coming from something called the Sigatoka complex, made up of three fungal diseases, which poses a huge risk to the world's banana supply, according to the online journal PLOS Genetics.

American plant pathologist Ioannis Stergiopoulos said the Sigatoka complex's fungal diseases - yellow Sigatoka, eumusae leaf spot and black Sigatoka - could potentially wipe out supply in the next five to 10 years.

Black Sigatoka poses the greatest risk, capable of not only shutting down the immune system of the banana, but also producing enzymes to break down the plant's cell walls.

More than five million bananas are eaten every day in Australia, according to the Australian Banana Growers Council.

The Queensland icon is a healthy and nutritious snack, packed full of potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, niacin and riboflavin.