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"Cacao"
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Mass Balance and Compositional Analysis of Biomass Outputs from Cacao Fruits
The global chocolate value chain is based exclusively on cacao beans (CBs). With few exceptions, most CBs traded worldwide are produced under a linear economy model, where only 8 to 10% of the biomass ends up in chocolate-related products. This contribution reports the mass balance and composition dynamics of cacao fruit biomass outputs throughout one full year of the crop cycle. This information is relevant because future biorefinery developments and the efficient use of cacao fruits will depend on reliable, robust, and time-dependent compositional and mass balance data. Cacao husk (CH), beans (CBs), and placenta (CP) constitute, as dry weight, 8.92 ± 0.90 wt %, 8.87 ± 0.52 wt %, and 0.57 ± 0.05 wt % of the cacao fruit, respectively, while moisture makes up most of the biomass weight (71.6 ± 2.29 wt %). CH and CP are solid lignocellulosic outputs. Interestingly, the highest cellulose and lignin contents in CH coincide with cacao’s primary harvest season (October to January). CB contains carbohydrates, fats, protein, ash, and phenolic compounds. The total polyphenol content in CBs is time-dependent, reaching maxima values during the harvest seasons. In addition, the fruit contains 4.13 ± 0.80 wt % of CME, a sugar- and nutrient-rich liquid output, with an average of 20 wt % of simple sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose), in addition to minerals (mainly K and Ca) and proteins. The total carbohydrate content in CME changes dramatically throughout the year, with a minimum of 10 wt % from August to January and a maximum of 29 wt % in March.
Journal Article
The beneficial endophyte Trichoderma hamatum isolate DIS 219b promotes growth and delays the onset of the drought response in Theobroma cacao
Theobroma cacao (cacao) is cultivated in tropical climates and is exposed to drought stress. The impact of the endophytic fungus Trichoderma hamatum isolate DIS 219b on cacao's response to drought was studied. Colonization by DIS 219b delayed drought-induced changes in stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis, and green fluorescence emissions. The altered expression of 19 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) (seven in leaves and 17 in roots with some overlap) by drought was detected using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR. Roots tended to respond earlier to drought than leaves, with the drought-induced changes in expression of seven ESTs being observed after 7 d of withholding water. Changes in gene expression in leaves were not observed until after 10 d of withholding water. DIS 219b colonization delayed the drought-altered expression of all seven ESTs responsive to drought in leaves by ≥3 d, but had less influence on the expression pattern of the drought-responsive ESTs in roots. DIS 219b colonization had minimal direct influence on the expression of drought-responsive ESTs in 32-d-old seedlings. By contrast, DIS 219b colonization of 9-d-old seedlings altered expression of drought-responsive ESTs, sometimes in patterns opposite of that observed in response to drought. Drought induced an increase in the concentration of many amino acids in cacao leaves, while DIS 219b colonization caused a decrease in aspartic acid and glutamic acid concentrations and an increase in alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid concentrations. With or without exposure to drought conditions, colonization by DIS 219b promoted seedling growth, the most consistent effects being an increase in root fresh weight, root dry weight, and root water content. Colonized seedlings were slower to wilt in response to drought as measured by a decrease in the leaf angle drop. The primary direct effect of DIS 219b colonization was promotion of root growth, regardless of water status, and an increase in water content which it is proposed caused a delay in many aspects of the drought response of cacao.
Journal Article
Beans to chocolate
\"Follow the story of chocolate through the farming process to manufacturing. Simple text is accompanied by large, attractive photographs\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Genomic structural variants constrain and facilitate adaptation in natural populations of Theobroma cacao, the chocolate tree
Genomic structural variants (SVs) can play important roles in adaptation and speciation. Yet the overall fitness effects of SVs are poorly understood, partly because accurate population-level identification of SVs requires multiple high-quality genome assemblies. Here, we use 31 chromosome-scale, haplotype-resolved genome assemblies of Theobroma cacao—an outcrossing, long-lived tree species that is the source of chocolate—to investigate the fitness consequences of SVs in natural populations. Among the 31 accessions, we find over 160,000 SVs, which together cover eight times more of the genome than single-nucleotide polymorphisms and short indels (125 versus 15 Mb). Our results indicate that a vast majority of these SVs are deleterious: they segregate at low frequencies and are depleted from functional regions of the genome. We show that SVs influence gene expression, which likely impairs gene function and contributes to the detrimental effects of SVs. We also provide empirical support for a theoretical prediction that SVs, particularly inversions, increase genetic load through the accumulation of deleterious nucleotide variants as a result of suppressed recombination. Despite the overall detrimental effects, we identify individual SVs bearing signatures of local adaptation, several of which are associated with genes differentially expressed between populations. Genes involved in pathogen resistance are strongly enriched among these candidates, highlighting the contribution of SVs to this important local adaptation trait. Beyond revealing empirical evidence for the evolutionary importance of SVs, these 31 de novo assemblies provide a valuable resource for genetic and breeding studies in T. cacao.
Journal Article
The genetic diversity of cacao and its utilization
The cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant is an important Neo-Tropical species whose natural habitat is the Amazon basin. Over the last 30 years there has been a considerable geographical expansion in the availability of cacao genetic resources. As a result the plant has a rich genetic diversity that exists at two levels: that of the primitive populations in the area of original distribution of the species, and that of the derived cultivated populations. This book provides a comprehensive review of our current knowledge of the diversity of the species. It starts by examining the diversity and inheritance of the characteristics of primitive populations in the Amazonian and Caribbean regions. It then looks at the evolution of diversity within cultivated populations first in South America and around the Caribbean, and then beyond the Americas. The book describes the inter-relationships between populations based on morphological and molecular markers. It also examines the conservation of genetic resources and how these genetic resources can be utilized to produce new cultivars.
eBook
Grandpa Cacao : a tale of chocolate from farm to family
As a little girl and her father work together to make her birthday cake, he tells the story of her Grandpa Cacao, a farmer from the Ivory Coast. Includes author's note and a cake recipe.
Book
High-Resolution Transcript Profiling of the Atypical Biotrophic Interaction between Theobroma cacao and the Fungal Pathogen Moniliophthora perniciosa
Witches' broom disease (WBD), caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, is one of the most devastating diseases of Theobroma cacao, the chocolate tree. In contrast to other hemibiotrophic interactions, the WBD biotrophic stage lasts for months and is responsible for the most distinctive symptoms of the disease, which comprise drastic morphological changes in the infected shoots. Here, we used the dual RNA-seq approach to simultaneously assess the transcriptomes of cacao and M. perniciosa during their peculiar biotrophic interaction. Infection with M. perniciosa triggers massive metabolic reprogramming in the diseased tissues. Although apparently vigorous, the infected shoots are energetically expensive structures characterized by the induction of ineffective defense responses and by a clear carbon deprivation signature. Remarkably, the infection culminates in the establishment of a senescence process in the host, which signals the end of the WBD biotrophic stage. We analyzed the pathogen's transcriptome in unprecedented detail and thereby characterized the fungal nutritional and infection strategies during WBD and identified putative virulence effectors. Interestingly, M. perniciosa biotrophic mycelia develop as long-term parasites that orchestrate changes in plant metabolism to increase the availability of soluble nutrients before plant death. Collectively, our results provide unique insight into an intriguing tropical disease and advance our understanding of the development of (hemi) biotrophic plant-pathogen interactions.
Journal Article