How Did Coffee Evolve? http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-evolve/ Humans started drinking coffee in the Middle East, India, Persia, Turkey and Northern Africa by the 16th century. However it was probably discovered and first prepared in the 10th century, with its use centered in monasteries in countries like Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. As the consumption of coffee spread so did its cultivation. A plant that grew wild in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula is now grown worldwide. But how did coffee evolve to contain caffeine and those antioxidants that are so important to health? The Coffee Genome Scientists have analyzed the DNA of coffee. It turns out that the caffeine in coffee evolved separately from the caffeine if tea or chocolate. But once the plant contained caffeine pests quit bothering it but pollinators like beans came back again and again. The University of Buffalo studied the coffee genome. The newly sequenced genome of the coffee plant reveals secrets about the evolution of man’s best chemical friend: caffeine. The scientists who completed the project say the sequences and positions of genes in the coffee plant show that they evolved independently from genes with similar functions in tea and chocolate, which also make caffeine. In other words, coffee did not inherit caffeine-linked genes from a common ancestor, but instead developed the genes on its own. Once the plant started making caffeine natural selection took over because when pests are turned away by the caffeine more of the plants survive and reproduce. When pollinators like the plant they help with reproduction. The variety of coffee studied was robusta or Coffea Canephora.

1. By
www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org

2. 
Humans started drinking coffee in the
Middle East, India, Persia, Turkey
and Northern Africa by the 16th
century.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

3. 
However it was probably discovered
and first prepared in the 10th century,
with its use centered in monasteries
in countries like Yemen on the
Arabian Peninsula.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

4. 
As the consumption of coffee spread
so did its cultivation. A plant that
grew wild in East Africa and the
Arabian Peninsula is now grown
worldwide.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

5. 
But how did coffee evolve to contain
caffeine and those antioxidants that
are so important to health?
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

6. 
The Coffee Genome
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

7. 
Scientists have analyzed the DNA of
coffee. It turns out that the caffeine in
coffee evolved separately from the
caffeine if tea or chocolate.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

8. 
But once the plant contained caffeine
pests quit bothering it but pollinators
like beans came back again and
again.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

9. 
The University of Buffalo studied the
coffee genome.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

10. 
The newly sequenced genome of the
coffee plant reveals secrets about
the evolution of man’s best chemical
friend: caffeine.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

11. 
The scientists who completed the
project say the sequences and
positions of genes in the coffee plant
show that they evolved
independently from genes with
similar functions in tea and
chocolate, which also make caffeine.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

12. 
In other words, coffee did not inherit
caffeine-linked genes from a
common ancestor, but instead
developed the genes on its own.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

13. 
Once the plant started making
caffeine natural selection took over
because when pests are turned
away by the caffeine more of the
plants survive and reproduce.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

14. 
When pollinators like the plant they
help with reproduction. The variety of
coffee studied was robusta or Coffea
Canephora.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

15. 
Compared to several other plant
species, including the grape and tomato,
coffee harbors larger families of genes
that relate to the production of alkaloid
and flavonoid compounds, which
contribute to qualities such as coffee
aroma and the bitterness of beans.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

16. 
Coffee also has an expanded
collection of N-methyltransferases,
enzymes that are involved in making
caffeine.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

17. 
Why caffeine is so important in
nature is another question. Scientists
theorize that the chemical may help
plants repel insects or stunt
competitors’ growth.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

18. 
One recent paper showed that
pollinators - like humans - may
develop caffeine habits. Insects that
visited caffeine-producing plants
often returned to get another taste.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

19. 
New genes arrive by chance pairings
or replication mistakes. The failures
lead to plant death or at least a less
competitive plant in its environment.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

20. 
In the case of coffee the antioxidants
and caffeine that make coffee
pleasurable and healthy for humans
also help protect the plant and help it
replicate.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

21. 
This is probably because it was so
well adapted to its environment and
so successful that the basic species
always out-competed any diverging
rivals.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

22. 
In this case we can think of
alligators, crocodiles or even
cockroaches which have survived as
the same model for millions of years.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

23. 
The all-time winner is probably the
horseshoe crab which has used the
same shape and form for 445 million
years.
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/

24. 
We can only hope that humans and
coffee enjoy the same longevity!
http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1855/how-did-coffee-
evolve/