Arabica Genome Now Available to Public
Every coffee bean contains the secrets of sequencing now openly shared by researchers, growers, and formulators
A genetic map of Coffea arabica is now available for all to share.
In announcing the news, Giuseppe Lavazza, vice chairman at Lavazza Coffee Company, said “The sequencing of the coffee genome gives us the ability to ‘read’ the plant and precisely identify its origins as well as determine, for example, the genes that give it a certain resistance to diseases or infections. This could result in a superior quality coffee end product based on objective criteria. Indeed, excellent quality is the ultimate goal our company has always pursued, and which is the focus of our ongoing research projects.”
The sequence is available on the World Coffee Research website - www.worldcoffeeresearch.org/genome - thanks to a public-private collaboration involving the Italian universities of Trieste, Udine, Padova, and Verona; with the Istituto di Genomica Applicata, IGA Technology Services, and DNA Analytica, in cooperation with illycaffè and Lavazza.
It is the first Coffea arabica fully available to the public. “The genome research is not only a brilliant example of public-private sector collaboration,” says Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè, “but is also an important step to support coffee growers around the world, who are already facing the damages of climate change.” The collaboration is an example of working together in a pre-competitive approach, which in turn, will help improve the entire coffee production supply chain,” said Lavazza.
Tim Schilling, c.e.o. and founder of World Coffee Research, explained that “Advanced genetics research is essential to coffee’s future as a sustainable crop, and to exploring the thrilling diversity of flavors found in coffee. Having access to a whole sequenced genome is an essential precursor to unlocking the potential of genetics research to transform coffee production.”
The access to Arabica coffee genome enables coffee breeders to accelerate efforts to increase the productivity, quality, and profitability of coffee growing worldwide.
— Dan Bolton