Africa: Coffee Crops Are Dying From a Fungus With Species-Jumping Genes - Researchers Are 'Resurrecting' Their Genomes to Understand How and Why

Africa: Coffee Crops Are Dying From a Fungus With Species-Jumping Genes - Researchers Are 'Resurrecting' Their Genomes to Understand How and Why

Analysis - For anyone who relies on coffee to start their day, coffee wilt disease may be the most important disease you've never heard of. This fungal disease has repeatedly reshaped the global coffee supply over the past century, with consequences that reach from African farms to cafe counters worldwide.

Coffee crops are dying from a fungus with species-jumping genes – researchers are ‘resurrecting’ their genomes to understand how and why

For anyone who relies on coffee to start their day, coffee wilt disease may be the most important disease you’ve never heard of. This fungal disease has repeatedly reshaped the global coffee supply over the past century, with consequences that reach from African farms to cafe counters worldwide. Infection with the fungus Fusarium xylarioides results in a characteristic “wilt” in coffee plants by blocking and reducing the plant’s ability to trans…

Coffee Crops Are Dying From A Fungus With Species-Jumping Genes

Researchers are ‘resurrecting’ their genomes to understand how and why this fungus is species-jumping,