Robusta DNA sequence revealed

THE DNA of the Robusta coffee bean (Coffea canephora) has been successfully sequenced by researchers at the French Institute of Research for Development, the French National Sequencing Centre and the University of Buffalo. Nestlé, through its scientists at the Nestlé Research and Development Center in Tours, France, contributed to the study as well.

Researchers were able to find the coffee’s independent pathway in evolution by comparing its genome structure with those of tea and cocoa species. For the coffee industry, the findings may hold the key to improving yield and the plant's resistance to disease and drought. The complete findings are published in Science journal.