Researchers Study Coffee's Beginnings
2024-04-18
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1The coffee you had this morning could have its beginnings some 600,000 years ago.
2Using genes from coffee plants from around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world's most popular kind of coffee.
3Scientists call it Coffea arabica.
4Coffee lovers know it simply as "arabica."
5The researchers recently published a new study about coffee.
6They found that the species appeared around 600,000 years ago.
7The plant was likely the result of natural breeding of two other coffee species.
8Victor Albert of the University at Buffalo was a co-leader of the study.
9He said the plant likely developed without the help of humans.
10Wild coffee plants likely started in Ethiopia.
11But they are thought to have been first roasted and brewed in Yemen starting in the 1400s.
12In the 1600s, Indian monk Baba Budan is said to have taken seven raw coffee beans back to his homeland from Yemen, laying the beginnings for coffee's worldwide takeover.
13Arabica coffee, loved for its smooth and sweet flavor, now makes up 60 to 70 percent of the global coffee market.
14The rest of the market is made up of robusta, a stronger and more bitter-tasting coffee made from one of arabica's parents, Coffea canephora.
15To learn about arabica coffee's past, researchers studied the genetic information, or genomes, of C. canephora and another parent plant called Coffea eugenioides.
16They also studied more than 30 different arabica plants.
17One of the plants was a sample from the 1700s provided by the Natural History Museum in London.
18The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus used that plant to give coffee its scientific name.
19The study appeared recently in the publication Nature Genetics. Researchers from Nestlé, a big Swiss food company which owns several coffee brands, helped with the study.
20The arabica plant's population changed over thousands of years before humans began growing it.
21The arabica plants did well during warm, wet periods and suffered through dry ones.
22These difficult times created what scientists call "population bottlenecks," when only a small number of genetically similar plants survived.
23Today, these genetic similarities mean arabica coffee plants are more likely to be hurt by diseases like coffee leaf rust, which causes costly losses every year.
24The researchers explored the makeup of one arabica variety that is resistant to coffee leaf rust.
25They are interested in parts of its genetic code that could help protect the plant.
26The study clarifies how arabica came to be and gives clues that could help protect the crop, said Fabian Echeverria of Texas A&M University.
27Echeverria was not involved with the research.
28Exploring arabica's past and present could help give information about how to keep coffee plants healthy - ensuring morning cups of coffee into the future.
29I'm John Russell.
1The coffee you had this morning could have its beginnings some 600,000 years ago. 2Using genes from coffee plants from around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world's most popular kind of coffee. Scientists call it Coffea arabica. Coffee lovers know it simply as "arabica." 3The researchers recently published a new study about coffee. They found that the species appeared around 600,000 years ago. The plant was likely the result of natural breeding of two other coffee species. 4Victor Albert of the University at Buffalo was a co-leader of the study. He said the plant likely developed without the help of humans. 5Wild coffee plants likely started in Ethiopia. But they are thought to have been first roasted and brewed in Yemen starting in the 1400s. In the 1600s, Indian monk Baba Budan is said to have taken seven raw coffee beans back to his homeland from Yemen, laying the beginnings for coffee's worldwide takeover. 6Arabica coffee, loved for its smooth and sweet flavor, now makes up 60 to 70 percent of the global coffee market. The rest of the market is made up of robusta, a stronger and more bitter-tasting coffee made from one of arabica's parents, Coffea canephora. 7To learn about arabica coffee's past, researchers studied the genetic information, or genomes, of C. canephora and another parent plant called Coffea eugenioides. They also studied more than 30 different arabica plants. 8One of the plants was a sample from the 1700s provided by the Natural History Museum in London. The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus used that plant to give coffee its scientific name. 9The study appeared recently in the publication Nature Genetics. Researchers from Nestlé, a big Swiss food company which owns several coffee brands, helped with the study. 10The arabica plant's population changed over thousands of years before humans began growing it. The arabica plants did well during warm, wet periods and suffered through dry ones. These difficult times created what scientists call "population bottlenecks," when only a small number of genetically similar plants survived. 11Today, these genetic similarities mean arabica coffee plants are more likely to be hurt by diseases like coffee leaf rust, which causes costly losses every year. The researchers explored the makeup of one arabica variety that is resistant to coffee leaf rust. They are interested in parts of its genetic code that could help protect the plant. 12The study clarifies how arabica came to be and gives clues that could help protect the crop, said Fabian Echeverria of Texas A&M University. Echeverria was not involved with the research. 13Exploring arabica's past and present could help give information about how to keep coffee plants healthy - ensuring morning cups of coffee into the future. 14I'm John Russell. 15Adithi Ramakrishnan reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 16__________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18family tree -n. a drawing that shows ancestors and offspring of a living thing 19species - n. a group of plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 20breeding -n. producing offspring 21roast - v. to cook with dry heat in an oven or over a fire 22brew - v. to make coffee 23sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from 24genetic code -n. the series of genetic substances that can be identified by scientists and linked to genetic qualities in species and individuals