Reuters is reporting that Brazil has mapped the DNA of the most wonderful plant in the world in order to create SuperCoffee:
Brazil has created the world’s first DNA map of the coffee plant to cut production costs and create beans that cater to the rich tastes of U.S. and European consumers, the country’s government said on Tuesday.After over two years of work, the world’s biggest coffee grower is using the DNA map to create the world’s biggest genetic data base on the plant. It contains information on the 200,000 DNA sequences, and 35,000 genes that create different aromas and caffeine levels in the beloved tropical bean.
According to Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues, “We are going to create a super coffee that everyone can benefit from eventually.” Unfortunately, it appears that while the new beans will be genetically engineered, they will not be genetically modified. Perhaps in five or six years, when Brazil opens its database on the bean to private interests, a company from a country that is less Luddite on the issue will create a true super coffee. I’d buy it. In the short term, we’ll have a putative competitor to Columbia and less expensive production.
[via Virginia Postrel]
