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. 2011 Feb;43(2):101-8.
doi: 10.1038/ng.736. Epub 2010 Dec 26.

The genome of Theobroma cacao

Xavier Argout  1 , Jerome Salse, Jean-Marc Aury, Mark J Guiltinan, Gaetan Droc, Jerome Gouzy, Mathilde Allegre, Cristian Chaparro, Thierry Legavre, Siela N Maximova, Michael Abrouk, Florent Murat, Olivier Fouet, Julie Poulain, Manuel Ruiz, Yolande Roguet, Maguy Rodier-Goud, Jose Fernandes Barbosa-Neto, Francois Sabot, Dave Kudrna, Jetty Siva S Ammiraju, Stephan C Schuster, John E Carlson, Erika Sallet, Thomas Schiex, Anne Dievart, Melissa Kramer, Laura Gelley, Zi Shi, Aurélie Bérard, Christopher Viot, Michel Boccara, Ange Marie Risterucci, Valentin Guignon, Xavier Sabau, Michael J Axtell, Zhaorong Ma, Yufan Zhang, Spencer Brown, Mickael Bourge, Wolfgang Golser, Xiang Song, Didier Clement, Ronan Rivallan, Mathias Tahi, Joseph Moroh Akaza, Bertrand Pitollat, Karina Gramacho, Angélique D'Hont, Dominique Brunel, Diogenes Infante, Ismael Kebe, Pierre Costet, Rod Wing, W Richard McCombie, Emmanuel Guiderdoni, Francis Quetier, Olivier Panaud, Patrick Wincker, Stephanie Bocs, Claire Lanaud
Affiliations

The genome of Theobroma cacao

Xavier Argout et al. Nat Genet. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

We sequenced and assembled the draft genome of Theobroma cacao, an economically important tropical-fruit tree crop that is the source of chocolate. This assembly corresponds to 76% of the estimated genome size and contains almost all previously described genes, with 82% of these genes anchored on the 10 T. cacao chromosomes. Analysis of this sequence information highlighted specific expansion of some gene families during evolution, for example, flavonoid-related genes. It also provides a major source of candidate genes for T. cacao improvement. Based on the inferred paleohistory of the T. cacao genome, we propose an evolutionary scenario whereby the ten T. cacao chromosomes were shaped from an ancestor through eleven chromosome fusions.

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Comment in

  • Chocolate and strawberries.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Nat Genet. 2011 Feb;43(2):85. doi: 10.1038/ng0211-85. Nat Genet. 2011. PMID: 21270832 No abstract available.

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