Coffee’s Prehistoric Origins

The prehistoric origins of Coffea arabica, a species central to global coffee consumption, have been traced back to over 600,000 years ago in Ethiopia through genome sequencing. This discovery reveals that Arabica coffee originated from the natural hybridization of Coffea canephora and Coffea eugenioides. Researchers have sequenced 39 Arabica varieties to create the highest quality reference genome, offering insights into the species' response to climatic changes and its population dynamics over millennia. Despite its widespread cultivation, initiated around the 15th century in Ethiopia and Yemen and later globalized, Arabica coffee faces significant threats due to its low genetic diversity, making it susceptible to diseases like coffee leaf rust. The new genomic insights