The buzz on caffeine in coffee: A genetic quirk

[Buster's Uncle]

The buzz on caffeine in coffee: A genetic quirk
Associated Press
By SETH BORENSTEIN  17 minutes ago



In this Jan. 3, 2013 file photo a row of brewed coffee is seen in Oakland, Calif. Scientists have woken up and smelled the coffee _ and analyzed its DNA. They found that what we love about coffee _ the caffeine _ is a genetic quirk, not related to the caffeine in chocolate or tea.“It’s an accident that has been frozen in place very likely by the influence of natural selection,” says University of Buffalo evolutionary biologist Victor Albert. He and more than 60 other researchers from around the world mapped out genetic instruction book of java. Their results are published Thursday in the journal Science. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)



WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have woken up and smelled the coffee — and analyzed its DNA.

They found that what we love about coffee — the caffeine — is a genetic quirk, not related to the caffeine in chocolate or tea.

"It's an accident that has been frozen in place very likely by the influence of natural selection," says University of Buffalo evolutionary biologist Victor Albert. He and more than 60 other researchers from around the world mapped out the genetic instruction book of java. Their results were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Albert says researchers discovered that caffeine developed separately in the coffee, tea and chocolate because it is in different genes in different areas of plants' genomes.

But once coffee mutated to have caffeine — not just in the bean, there's even more in the leaves — it turned out to be a good thing for the plant, Albert says. Bugs don't chew on the coffee plant leaves because they don't like the caffeine, but pollinators like bees do.

"So pollinators come back for more — just like we do for our cups of coffee," Albert says, admitting he also likes the buzz.

"It wakes me up every morning," Albert says. "I wouldn't be able to do all this fabulous work on coffee if it weren't for the coffee itself."

University of North Carolina plant genomics professor Jeff Dangl, who wasn't part of the study, notes "natural selection to help coffee plants deter insects turned out so well for us." But he adds, "Unfortunately, coffee is now under epidemic attack by pathogens that are not deterred by caffeine, and we need all the clever genetics and genomics to save it."

The research will be presented next week at the 25th International Conference on Coffee Science in Colombia.

___

Online:

The journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Coffee science conference: http://bit.ly/1A6Sum0


http://news.yahoo.com/buzz-caffeine-coffee-genetic-quirk-181558522.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Caffeine in coffee: A genetic quirk
Associated Press
By SETH BORENSTEIN  4 hours ago



In this Jan. 3, 2013 file photo a row of brewed coffee is seen in Oakland, Calif. Scientists have woken up and smelled the coffee _ and analyzed its DNA. They found that what we love about coffee _ the caffeine _ is a genetic quirk, not related to the caffeine in chocolate or tea.“It’s an accident that has been frozen in place very likely by the influence of natural selection,” says University of Buffalo evolutionary biologist Victor Albert. He and more than 60 other researchers from around the world mapped out genetic instruction book of java. Their results are published Thursday in the journal Science. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)



WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists who analyzed the DNA of coffee found that what people love about it — the caffeine — is a genetic quirk, not related to the caffeine in chocolate or tea.

"It's an accident that has been frozen in place very likely by the influence of natural selection," says University of Buffalo evolutionary biologist Victor Albert. He and more than 60 other researchers from around the world mapped out the genetic instruction book of java. Their results were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Albert says researchers discovered that caffeine developed separately in the coffee, tea and chocolate because it is in different genes in different areas of plants' genomes.

But once coffee mutated to have caffeine — not just in the bean, there's even more in the leaves — it turned out to be a good thing for the plant, Albert says. Bugs don't chew on the coffee plant leaves because they don't like the caffeine, but pollinators like bees do.

"So pollinators come back for more — just like we do for our cups of coffee," Albert says, admitting he also likes the buzz.

"It wakes me up every morning," Albert says. "I wouldn't be able to do all this fabulous work on coffee if it weren't for the coffee itself."

University of North Carolina plant genomics professor Jeff Dangl, who wasn't part of the study, notes "natural selection to help coffee plants deter insects turned out so well for us." But he adds, "Unfortunately, coffee is now under epidemic attack by pathogens that are not deterred by caffeine, and we need all the clever genetics and genomics to save it."

The research will be presented next week at the 25th International Conference on Coffee Science in Colombia.

___

Online:

The journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Coffee science conference: http://bit.ly/1A6Sum0


http://news.yahoo.com/caffeine-coffee-genetic-quirk-180734276.html

[Buster's Uncle]

A hot cup of genome: Scientists percolate coffee's genetic secrets
Reuters
By Will Dunham  41 minutes ago



Coffee beans are seen as they are being packed for export in Medan, Indonesia's North Sumatra province in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/YT Haryono/Files



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If you prefer your genetic research to be rich, bold, flavorful, steaming hot and with a bit of a kick, try a mug full of this: Scientists have deciphered the coffee genome and found genetic secrets that may make your cup of joe even better in the future.

An international team of researchers on Thursday unveiled the newly sequenced genome of the coffee plant. They pinpointed genetic attributes that could help in the development of new coffee varieties better able to endure drought, disease and pests, with the added benefit of enhancing flavor and caffeine levels.

The researchers studied the species Coffea canephora, better known as Robusta. It accounts for about 30 percent of the world's coffee production and is common in instant coffee. It is second in importance to Arabica, generally known for a less strong, smoother taste. Separate work is under way on Arabica's genome.

Along with its the popular beverage's distinctive flavor and aroma, caffeine undoubtedly is a big part of its appeal. The researchers said their study, published in the journal Science, found, not surprisingly, that the coffee plant boasted a broad collection of enzymes involved in the production of caffeine.

They also concluded that the coffee plant's caffeine enzymes evolved independently from those in cacao (chocolate) and tea.

Compared with other plants the scientists examined, coffee possessed larger families of genes related to making alkaloid and flavonoid compounds that contribute to the aroma and bitterness of beans.

"For any agricultural plant, having a genome is a prerequisite for any sort of high technology breeding or molecular modification," said plant genomist Victor Albert of the University at Buffalo, one of the researchers.

"Without a genome, we couldn't do any real advanced research on coffee that would allow us to improve it - not in this day and age," Albert added.

Coffee is one of the world's most valuable agricultural commodities.

With an estimated 2.25 billion cups consumed every day worldwide, more than 8.7 million tons of coffee were produced last year. Production and export are a multibillion-dollar enterprise, employing millions of people in more than 50 countries. A tropical and subtropical crop, it is vital to the economies of many developing countries.

"Coffee is as important to everyday early risers as it is to the global economy," said another researcher, Philippe Lashermes of the French Institute of Research for Development.

Albert said the coffee genome is of average size for a plant. It had about 25,500 genes responsible for various proteins.

Scientists have debated why coffee and certain other plants began their outsize caffeine production.

Albert said it could get pollinators to come back again and again - like people to their favorite Starbucks store - or stop herbivorous insects from chomping on the plant's leaves. When the leaves fall to the forest floor, caffeine and other compounds may leach into the soil and possibly inhibit the germination of the seeds of other competing plant species, he added.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; editing by Gunna Dickson)


http://news.yahoo.com/hot-cup-genome-scientists-percolate-coffees-genetic-secrets-223918478.html

[Buster's Uncle]

A hot cup of genome: Scientists percolate coffee's genetic secrets
Reuters
By Will Dunham  4 hours ago



Coffee beans are seen as they are being packed for export in Medan, Indonesia's North Sumatra province in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/YT Haryono/Files



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If you prefer your genetic research to be rich, bold, flavorful, steaming hot and with a bit of a kick, try a mug full of this: Scientists have deciphered the coffee genome and found genetic secrets that may make your cup of joe even better in the future.

An international team of researchers on Thursday unveiled the newly sequenced genome of the coffee plant. They pinpointed genetic attributes that could help in the development of new coffee varieties better able to endure drought, disease and pests, with the added benefit of enhancing flavor and caffeine levels.

The researchers studied the species Coffea canephora, better known as Robusta. It accounts for about 30 percent of the world's coffee production and is common in instant coffee. It is second in importance to Arabica, generally known for a less strong, smoother taste. Separate work is under way on Arabica's genome.

Along with its the popular beverage's distinctive flavor and aroma, caffeine undoubtedly is a big part of its appeal. The researchers said their study, published in the journal Science, found, not surprisingly, that the coffee plant boasted a broad collection of enzymes involved in the production of caffeine.

They also concluded that the coffee plant's caffeine enzymes evolved independently from those in cacao (chocolate) and tea.

Compared with other plants the scientists examined, coffee possessed larger families of genes related to making alkaloid and flavonoid compounds that contribute to the aroma and bitterness of beans.

"For any agricultural plant, having a genome is a prerequisite for any sort of high technology breeding or molecular modification," said plant genomist Victor Albert of the University at Buffalo, one of the researchers.

"Without a genome, we couldn't do any real advanced research on coffee that would allow us to improve it - not in this day and age," Albert added.

Coffee is one of the world's most valuable agricultural commodities.

With an estimated 2.25 billion cups consumed every day worldwide, more than 8.7 million tons of coffee were produced last year. Production and export are a multibillion-dollar enterprise, employing millions of people in more than 50 countries. A tropical and subtropical crop, it is vital to the economies of many developing countries.

"Coffee is as important to everyday early risers as it is to the global economy," said another researcher, Philippe Lashermes of the French Institute of Research for Development.

Albert said the coffee genome is of average size for a plant. It had about 25,500 genes responsible for various proteins.

Scientists have debated why coffee and certain other plants began their outsize caffeine production.

Albert said it could get pollinators to come back again and again - like people to their favorite Starbucks store - or stop herbivorous insects from chomping on the plant's leaves. When the leaves fall to the forest floor, caffeine and other compounds may leach into the soil and possibly inhibit the germination of the seeds of other competing plant species, he added.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; editing by Gunna Dickson)


http://news.yahoo.com/hot-cup-genome-scientists-percolate-coffees-genetic-secrets-223918478.html