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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #199415
Title: COFFEE GENOMICS AND GERMPLASM

Author
item Vega, Fernando
item EBERT, ANDREAS - CATIE, COSTA RICA
item MING, RAY - UNIV. OF ILLINOIS

Submitted to: Plant Breeding Reviews
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2009
Publication Date: 1/1/2008
Citation: Vega, F.E., Ebert, A., Ming, R. 2008. Coffee genomics and germplasm. Plant Breeding Reviews. p. 415-447.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Coffee is the second largest export commodity in the world after petroleum products with an estimated annual retail sales value of US $70 billion. Over 10 million hectares of coffee were harvested in 2005 in more than 50 developing countries, and about 125 million people, equivalent to 17-20 million families, depend on coffee for their subsistence in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The genus Coffea forms part of the Rubiaceae family and comprises about 100 different species, with only two species having economic importance: C. arabica and C. canephora. There is a strong interest among coffee producers in understanding how the decoding of the coffee genome of approximately 1,158 million base pairs could help them. What would a coordinated effort on coffee molecular biology provide? What is the importance of maintaining and studying coffee germplasm? This chapter is aimed at answering this question.