The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) is an evergreen tree native to the tropical areas of North and South America. Its seeds are an important crop used to make cocoa powder and chocolate. The cocoa tree is an important food crop and the key ingredient of a multi-billion dollar industry, but is threatened by climate change as it thrives in a narrow temperature range. Cocoa trees also produce a number of alkaloids such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine, which are known stimulants in humans. The genome of the cocoa tree is diploid with a size of 430 Mb.
Genome release:
https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.736
Argout, X., Salse, J., Aury, J.M., Guiltinan, M.J., Droc, G., Gouzy, J., Allegre, M., Chaparro, C., Legavre, T., Maximova, S.N. and Abrouk, M., 2011. The genome of Theobroma cacao. Nature genetics, 43(2), p.101.
Content written by Galyna Vakulenko Summer Intern 2018
