Bennett Alan B
Mann Laboratory, Department of Vegetable Crops, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Trends Plant Sci. 2003 Dec;8(12):561-3. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2003.10.004.
Theobroma cacao has long been a crop of near-mystical human importance among indigenous Mesoamerican cultures and its importance in modern culture is growing with new realizations of the potential health benefits of cocoa polyphenolic compounds. However, cultivated T. cacao is vulnerable to emerging disease pressures because it has a narrow genetic base, and systematic genetic improvement of the crop is imperative. A wide range of genomic tools and resources has been developed and are providing the basis for genome-based breeding and gene discovery.
在中美洲本土文化中，可可长期以来一直是一种具有近乎神秘的人类重要性的作物，随着对可可多酚化合物潜在健康益处的新认识，其在现代文化中的重要性也在不断增加。然而，由于遗传基础狭窄，栽培的可可容易受到新出现的病害压力的影响，因此对该作物进行系统的遗传改良势在必行。目前已经开发出了广泛的基因组工具和资源，为基于基因组的育种和基因发现提供了基础。
