"Ancient Origins: Tracing the History of Your Morning Coffee"

Researchers have traced the origins of arabica coffee back 600,000 years through natural crossbreeding of two other coffee species, shedding light on its genetic history and vulnerabilities to diseases like coffee leaf rust. The study, published in Nature Genetics, aims to protect the plant from pests and climate change by exploring its genetic makeup and population fluctuations over time, potentially safeguarding the global coffee market dominated by arabica.