Chocolate (Cacao) Genome

Sequencing of the chocolate (Cacao) genome

Cacao production provides a livelihood for over 6.5 million farmers in Africa, South America and Asia, and is also the basic ingredient in the world's favorite confection - chocolate. Historically, cocoa production has been plagued by serious global losses from pests and diseases. Brazil, for instance, was the world's second largest cocoa producer during the 1980's, producing over 400,000 tons/year. After a fungal pathogen infected almost all of Brazil's cacao growing regions it now produces less than 100,000 tons/year. So how can cocoa bean production best be secured? First, we need to identify the genes that control the agronomic traits such as yield, flavor and resistance to disease and pests. Armed with this knowledge we can identify DNA markers that can be used to screen cacao cultivars for the presence of the genes of interest. Improved cultivars can be developed by crossing cacao plants which have the desired traits and identifying those that have inherited all of the desired characteristics using the DNA markers. Only the plants containing the required traits will then continue on for further field evaluation, ultimately leading to the release of superior cacao cultivars. The most efficient, rapid and direct way to identify the genes responsible for controlling the traits of agronomic importance is to sequence the cacao genome. Together with scientists at Mars, the USDA and IBM, Dr. May and colleagues are sequencing the Cacao genome. These studies are supported by Mars, Inc. and by the USDA.