Meet the genes in the beans of your coffee

Wake up and smell the genome.

Researchers have pieced together the genetic atlas of the parent of the most commonly cultivated species of coffee plant and uncovered a rather independent streak in its evolution.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this post said 39 countries had exported 5.3 metric tons of coffee last year. Those countries exported 5.3 million metric tons.

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Coffee developed its caffeine-generating capacity independently from its cousin, cacao, according to the first whole genome study of the plant behind the brew quaffed every morning by about 100 million Americans, published online Thursday in the journal Science.

Theres been a lot of genetic sleuthing on coffee, most of it far from the tree. We have a good idea about how caffeine affects animal (particularly human) genes and alters brain chemistry. We know which of our own genes seem to draw us toward consuming coffee, tea or chocolate as well. And theres also been a heady, if somewhat contradictory, brew of studies purporting to demonstrate caffeines beneficial and deleterious effects on humans.

But how caffeine production got started has been as hard to see as a spoon in a demitasse of espresso.

Coffee has been kind of an orphan crop," said UC Davis geneticist Juan F.Medrano, who was not involved in the study. "It has been kind of forgotten in terms of DNA research. Perhaps this opens the door to expand that area.

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Meet the genes in the beans of your coffee