Theobroma Cacao genome decoded

Wednesday 22nd September

Those clever scientist people have decoded the genome for Theobroma Cacao which means that growers can now engineer plants that are more resilient. Annual global production from the cacao crop runs at 3.7 million tonnes, but over a third of the harvest is reportedly lost to insect pests and fungal diseases. Although GM cacao crops are not something we’d encourage it may well have a positive affect on the fine chocolate industry with more beans available generally if mass produced cacao crops are more stable.

Thanks to scientists at the chocolate manufacturer Mars and their collaborators, the genome of the plant has been decoded and published online at Nature Precedings. You can read the science bit by clicking here