Scientists discovered that two different types of coffee species cross-pollinated in Ethiopian woodlands 600,000-1 million years ago, resulting in the plants that produce the majority of the world’s coffee.
Approximately 60% of the world’s coffee comes from Coffea arabica plants, which are now found in tropical areas all over the globe. New research has revealed when and where the first C arabica plants most likely arose; the findings were published in the journal Nature Genetics on April 15.
Using population genomic modeling approaches, the researchers determined that C arabica originated as a result of natural hybridization between C eugenioides and C canephora, two other coffee species.
Because of the hybridisation process, each offspring inherits two sets of chromosomes from both parents, resulting in a polyploid genome. It is probable that this gave C arabica with a survival advantage, allowing it to thrive and adapt.
According to Victor Albert, a biologist at the State University of New York at Buffalo, hybrid polyploidy can provide an immediate evolutionary advantage as it results in the inheritance of two sets of chromosomes and two complete sets of genes. “Of course, it’s always the case that duplicate genes are lost on the two genome halves of the polyploid, but there is always a net gain in gene numbers and therefore, possibly, a greater capacity to adapt to new environments.”