In search for a healthier and tastier version of chocolate and strawberries, scientists have made for the first time a serious search into the two products’ genetic code hoping to find some clues that would lead to the improving of both taste and quality. Two teams of international scientists were assembled, the chocolate team and the strawberry team.
Both teams published what they discovered in the journal Nature Genetics.The chocolate team led by French scientists analyzed the DNA of the a tree, Theobroma cacao which makes the finest chocolate in the world while the strawberry team, led by the University of Florida analyzed the genome of the woodland strawberry which represents a wild variety of the fruit.
Most cacao planters now grow hybrid cacao which results in chocolate of lower quality but much more healthier and disease resistant. Scientists are hoping that their research will provide the answer to growing a finer chocolate but also a healthier one thus increasing productivity of growing finer cacao and developing a sustainable cacao economy. Fine cocoa production now represents less than five percent of the world cocoa production so the scientist opinion is that a method to increase this percentage must be found.
The strawberry team created the strawberry parts list in order to better discover what the strawberry plant is all about. Professor Kevin Folta explained that this is the easiest way of finding out strawberry flavor secrets and health benefits. The woodland strawberry, by its’ scientific name of Fragaria vesca is not very different from the cultivated strawberry, maybe less complex which makes it easier for the team to study it. The aim of the research is the same as for chocolate: to discover what makes strawberry juicy and healthy in order to improve those qualities.
Most cacao planters now grow hybrid cacao which results in chocolate of lower quality but much more healthier and disease resistant. Scientists are hoping that their research will provide the answer to growing a finer chocolate but also a healthier one thus increasing productivity of growing finer cacao and developing a sustainable cacao economy. Fine cocoa production now represents less than five percent of the world cocoa production so the scientist opinion is that a method to increase this percentage must be found.
The strawberry team created the strawberry parts list in order to better discover what the strawberry plant is all about. Professor Kevin Folta explained that this is the easiest way of finding out strawberry flavor secrets and health benefits. The woodland strawberry, by its’ scientific name of Fragaria vesca is not very different from the cultivated strawberry, maybe less complex which makes it easier for the team to study it. The aim of the research is the same as for chocolate: to discover what makes strawberry juicy and healthy in order to improve those qualities. |
