Forum for Science, Industry and Business
  • Sponsored by:
  • Siemens
  • Siemens
  • Siemens
Search our Site:

Topic (optional):

 

Home Reports Agricultural and Forestry Science Content

Strengthening coffee

next article
11.07.2005

 


Is your cup of coffee suffering from fertility problems? If you’re drinking the instant variety it may very well be! The Robusta crop (Coffea canephora), which is the main variety for producing instant coffee, suffers from ‘self-incompatibility’ so can’t pollinate itself. This presents a dilemma for coffee farmers who have to grow it in mixed plantings so that cross-pollination takes place – but which varieties to cross with which?


Sylvester Tumusiime (University of Nottingham, UK) will be presenting his work on coffee breeding on Monday 11th July at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting in Barcelona [session P4/E4.26] which shows that this problem might be overcome by developing molecular markers which can identify self-incompatibility genotypes to improve breeding strategies. In collaboration with the Ugandan Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Tumusiime and colleagues have investigated the possible involvement of a group of proteins called ribonucleases (RNA-degrading enzymes) in the self-incompatibility (S) mechanism. Several distinct ribonuclease patterns have been identified in female reproductive tissues. As plants with the same S-genotype cannot fertilise each other, research is focussed on identifying different S-genotypes which will help farmers to choose the best mixture of varieties to grow and will also facilitate future cross-breeding.

Unlike Robusta, mainly used for instant coffee, the higher value Arabica crop, favoured for filter coffee, is self-compatible and therefore easier to cultivate and maintain as breeding material. However, the high genetic diversity of Robusta offers the potential of increasing the resistance to diseases and environmental changes, improving the quality of our future brew.

Diana van Gent | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.sebiology.org/vcsearch.asp

next article

More articles from Agricultural and Forestry Science:

nachricht Shaping the Nation’s Renewable Energy Future
21.07.2008 | Oklahoma State University

nachricht New Quaker Oats Funding for U of S Oat Research
18.07.2008 | University of Saskatchewan

B2B Search

Product / Service
Company / Organisation

Latest News

Object intermediate between normal supernovae and gamma-ray bursts found

25.07.2008 | Physics and Astronomy

Leeds project aims to boost parents’ confidence in MMR choices as measles rates rise

25.07.2008 | Health and Medicine

COROT’s new find orbits Sun-like star

25.07.2008 | Physics and Astronomy