The New Sequencing War: The Cocoa (Chocolate) Genome
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A collaborative research team led by scientists at the candy maker (M&Ms, Snickers, Milky Way) Mars, the U.S. Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and IBM—announced this morning that they have successfully completed a preliminary cacao genome sequence, a map of the crop that supplies the majority of the world's cocoa for the manufacture of chocolate and other food products. The Mars group announcement upstaged a second research group—a consortium composed of Hershey, Pennsylvania State University and the French government—that was working furiously to complete its version of the cocoa sequence. BioJobBlog covered the initial announcement about the sequencing project made by the Mars group back in 2008.
While the race to sequence the cocoa genome was not as intense and bitter as the one between Celera and the Human Genome Project to sequence the human genome, the competition between the Mars and Hershey to be the first to announce the completed genome had similar trappings. Initially, there had been discussions between the two groups to work collaboratively on the cocoa genome. But after some deliberation the Mars team decided to “go it alone.”
At present, about 70 percent of the world crop is grown in West Africa by millions of small growers. With the cocoa sequence in hand, scientists believe that they can use molecular biology to improve yields and create cocoa varieties that are more resistant to diseases. For example, a fungal disease known as witches’ broom almost decimated the entire Brazilian cocoa group several years ago. Improving yields and making cocoa more resistant to infection may help to bring the cost of cocoa-based products like chocolate in the future. Another benefit may be improving the taste or increasing the amount of anti-aging flavonoids found in chocolate.
The cocoa genome contains about 420 million base pairs as compared with the human genome which contains roughly 3 billion base pairs. The Mars group edged out the Hershey-led group because it started earlier and mainly relied on fast, second generation DNA sequencers made by Illumina and 454. While Mars can claim victory because it finished first, the Hershey-derived sequence will be valuable to corroborate Mars’ preliminary sequence. Like everything else in science, research results must be independently confirmed before they are accepted by the wider scientific community.
Hat tip to Mars and Hershey for insuring future of the world’s chocolate supply!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Eating (Neuhaus chocolate rocks)
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snack on a piece of chocolate from time to time? Because of the growing incidence of tropical diseases, pests and global climate change, Mars, the giant candy maker (M&Ms, Snickers), 