''Coffea charrieriana'', also known as Charrier coffee, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

from the ''

Coffea ''Coffea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. ''Coffea'' species are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. The seeds of some species, called coffee beans, are used to flavor variou ...

'' genus. It is a

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

-free

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

plant

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. It is the first recorded caffeine-free ''Coffea'' in Central Africa, and the second to be recorded in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The first caffeine-free species was previously discovered in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, named '' C. pseudozanguebariae''.Hamon, Perla, Corrinne E. Grover, Aaron P. Davis, Jean-Jacques Rakotomalala, Nathalie E. Raharimalala, Victor A. Albert, and Hosahalli L. Sreenath et al. 2017. "Genotyping-By-Sequencing Provides The First Well-Resolved Phylogeny For Coffee (Coffea) And Insights Into The Evolution Of Caffeine Content In Its Species". Molecular Phylogenetics And Evolution 109: 351–361. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.02.009. The International Institute for Species Exploration at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

and a committee of

taxonomists In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are given ...

and scientists voted ''C. charrieriana'' as one of the top 10 species described in 2008.

Taxonomy

''Coffea charrieriana'' is classified under the ''

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

'' family and the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of ''Coffea''. They are currently 120

of ''Coffea'' spread in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, of which two, ''

Coffea arabica ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabica coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is the dominant cultivar, represe ...

'' and ''

Coffea canephora ''Coffea canephora'' (especially ''C. canephora var. robusta'', so predominantly cultivated that it is often simply termed ''Coffea robusta'', or commonly robusta coffee) is a species of coffee plant that has its origins in central and weste ...

'', dominate worldwide coffee plant production, making up 99% of produce.

Distribution and habitat

This plant is

to West

in the Bakossi Forest Reserve. It grows in a habitat of wet rainforest on rocky slopes of an altitude of 160 m and a mean elevation range of 300 m. It is highly threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

for logging and palm oil production in its vulnerable lowland forest habitat.

History

''Coffea charrieriana'' was discovered in 2008 and the findings were published in a paper named "A new caffeine-free coffee from Cameroon" to the ''

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a scientific journal publishing original papers relating to the taxonomy of all plant groups and fungi, including anatomy, biosystematics, cytology, ecology, ethnobotany, electron microscopy, ...

''. The plant was named by authors of the paper, Piet Stoffelen and Francois Anthony, in honour of Professor André Charrier who had made significant efforts towards the

industry. His work included leading the coffee breeding research and collection at Institute Research for Development (IRD) for the last 30 years of the 20th century. He also held a position at the French Office of Genetic Resources (BRG) from 1988 to 1993. He is currently working as the director of research at National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), focusing on

plant genetics Plant genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity specifically in plants. It is generally considered a field of biology and botany, but it intersects with numerous life sciences, including molecular biology, evolutionary biolog ...

and breeding. As a result of collaboration between the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), Biodiversity International, Paris Museum of Natural History and the French Agricultural Research Centre from 1966 to 1987, coffee plants from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, Congo,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

were collected. The cuttings from ''C. charrieriana'' were first collected in 1985 from Bakossi Forest Reserve in Cameroon in Central Africa along with 70 other ''Coffea'' species, many of which were already taxonomically identified.Anthony, Francois; Dussert, S.; Dulloo, E. 2007. The coffee genetic resources. In: Engelmann, F., Dulloo, E., Astorga, C., Dussert, S., Anthony, Francois, eds. "Complementary strategies for ex situ conservation of Coffea arabica genetic resources. A case study in CATIE, Costa Rica" 'Rome: Bioversity International, Topical Reviews in Agricultural Biodiversity', 12–22. Though ''C. charrieriana'' was identified as morphologically different to previously identified ''Coffea'' species, further work was not done until 1997. In 1997 the cuttings were sent to the Institute of Research for Development (IRD) in which further study such as observations of the

seed coat In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

, anatomical observations of the leaves and biochemical analysis was undertaken. It was not until 2008, after morphological and genetic studies of this species, that it was recognised as a new species of ''Coffea''. Genotyping analysis reveals ''C. charrieriana'' to have diverged from a common ancestor 11.15 million years ago.

Description

''Coffea charrieriana'' can grow up to a range of in height and spread . The shrubs can grow to high,"Coffee Tree (Coffea Charrieriana) - Plants , Candide Gardening". 2020. Candide

/ref> whilst the branchlets are in diameter. The

stipules In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part of the anatomy ...

have tiny hairs at the top and overlap each other and are deltate to triangular in shape and long. ''C. charrieriana'' has small and thin leaves that are elliptical in frame. The base of the leaf is slightly wedged in shape whilst the apex of the leaf tapers to a round tip. This tapering point is roughly long. Both the top and bottom of the leaf surface are free of hair and smooth. The leaves'

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s are long. Its leaf blades are in length by in breadth and features three to seven secondary nerve cells per side of the midvein. The tertiary veins are

reticulated Reticulation is a net-like pattern, arrangement, or structure. Reticulation or Reticulated may refer to: * Reticulation (single-access key), a structure of an identification tree, where there are several possible routes to a correct identificat ...

, having a thread-like structure. The leaf also has domatia structures which are hairless. Anatomically, the leaf structure consists of an upper

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and Subcutaneous tissue, hypodermis. The epidermal layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the ...

(20–30 μm),

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

mesophyll (20–30 μm), spongy mesophyll (45–70 μm), and lower epidermis (10–20 μm). This structure is quite similar to those found in other ''Coffea'' species. However, comparatively to other ''Coffea'' species, the leaves are thin at 100–130 μm thick and contain very few secondary nerves. These properties differ from other ''Coffea'' species specifically found in Central Africa, and resemble that of '' Phaeanthus ebracteolatus'', a wild species found in Africa. The size of the individual leaf structure components are also much smaller than the average seen in most other ''Coffea'' species. In addition, this abnormally small leaf characteristic is one of three known in Central Africa, along with '' C. anthonyi'' and '' C. kapakata''. There are one to two

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

per stem; each inflorescence contains one flower and two calyculi. The calyculi is divided into upper and lower structures. The lower calyculus has a rim shape with two smaller leave lobes. The upper calyculus has two broadly triangular shaped stipulars and two narrowly shaped elliptical foliar lobes. This plant consists of fruits that are

drupes In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a s ...

in nature, each containing two pyrenes, with one seed per pyrene. The fruit is connected to a hairless peduncle that is long. The red and fleshy fruit is in size, whilst the coffee seed inside is elliptic in shape and covered in a

parenchymatous upright=1.6, Lung parenchyma showing damage due to large subpleural bullae. Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ such as the brain or lungs, or a structure such as a tumour. In zoology, it is the tissue that ...

seed coat. Comparatively to other ''Coffea'' species, ''C. charrieriana'' lacks

sclereids Sclereids are a reduced form of sclerenchyma cells with highly thickened, lignified cellular walls that form small bundles of durable layers of tissue in most plants.Evert, Ray F; Eichhorn, Susan E. Esau's Plant Anatomy: Meristems, Cells, and Ti ...

in its seed coat; the absence of sclereids is seen in plants of the genus '' Psilanthus'' and other Madagascan species. The seed measures long x wide x thick. Characteristically of ''Coffea'' species, the seed is rounded, smooth and grooved. The flowers have no stalk and consist of five petals. The white corolla tube is long while the lobes are long and broad. The flower's

gynoecium Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

is a small disc that sits on the top of the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

and is surrounded by a truncated, smooth

calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...

limb. The characteristics of the flower closely match those of the ''Coffea'' genus. In the flower, the

anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

and

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

protrude out; the anthers are also attached to the corolla. The short filament that connects to the zone between the tube, lobes and corolla is not semi-transparent, making it a distinct species from the closely related genus ''Psilanthus'', in which this section is generally semi-transparent in colour. ''C. charrieriana'' also possesses a corolla tube (1 mm long), style (10 mm long), two lobed stigma (2 mm long),

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

(3 mm long) and anther filament (2 mm long). The size of the

corolla tube Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

, corolla lobes and anthers differ from other known ''Coffea'' species from Central Africa.

Biochemistry

Biochemical analysis of the seeds reveals that they are caffeine-free, this caffeine-free biochemical characteristic is generally found in Madagascan ''Coffea'' species. Studies reported 30 out of 47 Madagascan ''Coffea'' species had very little or no traces of caffeine.Hamon, P., Rakotomalala, J., Akaffou, S., Razafinarivo, N., Couturon, E.; Guyot, Romain; Crouzillat, D., Hamon, S. and de Kochko, A., 2015. Caffeine-free Species in the Genus Coffea. Coffee in Health and Disease Prevention, pp. 39–44. It is the second caffeine-free species, along with ''C. pseudozanguebariae'' which grows in a coastal dry forest near the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It is suggested that the absence of caffeine in the ''Coffea'' species is due to

spliceosome A spliceosome is a large ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex found primarily within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The spliceosome is assembled from small nuclear RNAs ( snRNA) and numerous proteins. Small nuclear RNA (snRNA) molecules bind to sp ...

deficiency. Though the plants contain the necessary genes to produce caffeine, due to a malfunction in the protein synthesis pathway as a result of incorrect splicing patterns, caffeine is not produced. Caffeine absence is caused by a monogenic

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

pattern, with the involvement of one gene and two alleles; the plant containing the recessive

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

leads to no caffeine content. On the other hand, it is likely that caffeine production level is controlled by

polygenic A polygene is a member of a group of non- epistatic genes that interact additively to influence a phenotypic trait, thus contributing to multiple-gene inheritance (polygenic inheritance, multigenic inheritance, quantitative inheritance), a type ...

inheritance and the amount of caffeine produced is a genetic factor. Through further analysis, it was found that instead of accumulation of caffeine, the deficient caffeine

synthase In biochemistry, a synthase is an enzyme that catalyses a synthesis process. Note that, originally, biochemical nomenclature distinguished synthetases and synthases. Under the original definition, synthases do not use energy from nucleoside trip ...

gene responsible for caffeine production had instead produced a substance called

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to ...

in its place. This discovery by scientists led to further understanding about the genetics of caffeine in ''Coffea'' plants, and the ability to hybridize coffee plants with caffeine-free plants to produce a

decaf Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) is a tool kit, developed by Microsoft, to help Computer forensics, computer forensic investigators extract evidence from a Windows Personal computer, computer. Installed on a USB flash drive or o ...

line of seeds with lower caffeine concentrations. It also opened up the option of removing this particular gene in plants containing caffeine to create a caffeine-free plant. Compared to other ''Coffea'', ''C. charrieriana'' along with ''C. canephora'' and '' C. mannii'' has a significantly lower

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula . Both alkene groups () are ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n−6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid. Linoleic acid is a polyunsat ...

percentage. ''C. charrieriana'' also had the lowest

polyunsaturated In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsa ...

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

content (<30%) Dussert, Stéphane, Andréina Laffargue, Alexandre de Kochko, and Thierry Joët. 2008. "Effectiveness Of The Fatty Acid And Sterol Composition Of Seeds For The Chemotaxonomy Of Coffea Subgenus Coffea". Phytochemistry 69 (17): 2950–2960

/ref> and 0.8% dry matter basis. As a result, though originating from Africa, ''C. charrieriana'' is closer

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

to Madagascan than African species (Dussert et al. 2008, 2953). By examining ''C. charrieriana's'' leaf components, it forms a separate

gene cluster A gene cluster is a group of two or more genes found within an organism's DNA that encode similar peptide, polypeptides or proteins which collectively share a generalized function and are often located within a few thousand base pairs of each othe ...

to ''C. anthonyi, C. arabica, C. canephora, C. humilis, C. kapakata, C. liberica, C. liberica var. liberica'' and ''C. mannii''.Mees, Corenthin, Florence Souard, Cedric Delporte, Eric Deconinck, Piet Stoffelen, Caroline Stévigny, Jean-Michel Kauffmann, and Kris De Braekeleer. 2018. "Identification Of Coffee Leaves Using FT-NIR Spectroscopy And SIMCA". Talanta 177: 4–11

/ref> ''C. charrieriana'' also has lower caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) than other ''Coffea'' species.Rodríguez-Gómez, Rocío, Jérôme Vanheuverzwjin, Florence Souard, Cédric Delporte, Caroline Stevigny, Piet Stoffelen, Kris De Braekeleer, and Jean-Michel Kauffmann. 2018. "Determination Of Three Main Chlorogenic Acids In Water Extracts Of Coffee Leaves By Liquid Chromatography Coupled To An Electrochemical Detector". Antioxidants 7 (10): 143. doi:10.3390/antiox7100143. From analysing the fatty acid content alone, ''C. charrieriana'' is most closely related to '' C. congensis'' and forms a separate

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

from the other 59 ''Coffea''

genotypes The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...

. Further genetic analysis of long tandem repeat

retrotransposons Retrotransposons (also called Class I transposable elements) are transposable element, mobile elements which move in the host genome by converting their transcribed RNA into DNA through reverse transcription. Thus, they differ from Class II trans ...

(LTR-RT), more specifically of the lineages SIRE and Del, were analysed in ''C. charrieriana''. LTR-RT are redundant sections of the plant

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

. It was found that whilst other West and Central African ''Coffea'' species contained 4.5–5.1% of SIRE lineage, ''C. charrieriana'' contained 3.2%. In addition, ''C. charrieriana'' also had the lowest percentage of Del fraction, at 13.1% compared to 14–16.2% found in other West and Central African species. This suggests that with the observations of SIRE and Del, ''C. charrieriana'' is genetically distinct to its geographical counterpart species.Guyot, Romain, Thibaud Darré, Mathilde Dupeyron, Alexandre de Kochko, Serge Hamon, Emmanuel Couturon, and Dominique Crouzillat et al. 2016. "Partial Sequencing Reveals The Transposable Element Composition Of Coffea Genomes And Provides Evidence For Distinct Evolutionary Stories". Molecular Genetics And Genomics 291 (5): 1979–1990. doi:10.1007/s00438-016-1235-7. ''Coffea charrieriana'' also has the largest

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

genome within the ''Coffea'' genus. When clustering the 52 species from ''Coffea'' and ''Psilanthus'', ''C. charrieriana'', along with another species, ''P. travancorensis'', were excluded from the clusters due to poor analysis results. Though ''C. charrieriana'' originates from Cameroon, genetic results suggest a placement of ''C. charrieriana'' between the two genera of ''Psilanthus'' and ''Coffea''. It is genetically similar to West and Central African ''Coffea'' species but shares morphological similarities with ''Psilanthus'', such as its vegetation. The difficulty in grouping ''C. charrieriana'' is likely the result of ancient hybridisation between ''C. charrieriana'' and a ''Psilanthus'' chloroplast, leading to a mixed genome.Charr, J., Garavito, A., Guyeux, C., Crouzillat, D., Descombes, P., Fournier, C., Ly, S., Raharimalala, E., Rakotomalala, J., Stoffelen, P., Janssens, S., Hamon, P. and Guyot, R., 2020. Complex evolutionary history of coffees revealed by full plastid genomes and 28,800 nuclear SNP analyses, with particular emphasis on Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 151, p. 106906.

Alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s are found in many plants including coffee and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

, but only very small amounts are present in ''C. charrieriana.''Preedy, V. R. (ed.) 2014, Coffee in Health and Disease Prevention, Elsevier Science & Technology, San Diego. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. 9 November 2020

Cultivation and use

''Coffea charrieriana'' grows in wet places with plenty of sunshine. During dry periods, the species undergoes floral bud

morphogenesis Morphogenesis (from the Greek ''morphê'' shape and ''genesis'' creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of deve ...

, but the flowering buds do not emerge until the next rainfall event. After rain, a flowering event is seen in seven days. The time it takes for flowering of all ''Coffea'' species ranges from 5–13 days, making correct timing of hybridization difficult.Noirot, M., Charrier, A., Stoffelen, P. et al. 2016. Reproductive isolation, gene flow and speciation in the former ''Coffea'' subgenus: a review. Trees 30, 597–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1335-8 Similar to other ''Coffea'' species, the fleshy fruit of ''C. charrieriana'' contains edible beans. These can be prepared by drying,

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...

or grinding, generally to make coffee. As a naturally occurring caffeine-free coffee, it provides an alternative over artificially decaffeinated coffee.Rafferty, John P. 2012. "Charrier Coffee , Plant". Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/Charrier-coffee. With increasing demand for decaffeinated coffee, methods such as plant hybridization between coffee-free species,

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

interference of genetics and chemical extraction have been used to artificially decrease caffeine content.Silvarolla, M., Mazzafera, P. & Fazuoli, L. 2004. 'A naturally decaffeinated arabica coffee'. Nature 429, 826 https://doi.org/10.1038/429826a Generally, the presence of caffeine acts on the tastebuds, giving caffeinated products a distinct flavour,Poole, R. L., Tordoff, M. G. The Taste of Caffeine. J Caffeine Res. 2017;7(2):39-52. doi:10.1089/jcr.2016.0030 so as a caffeine-free species, ''C. charrieriana'' may not be preferable to coffee drinkers who prefer the taste provided by caffeine. ''C. charrieriana'' can be used in plant hybridization as the theobromine can be transferable between breeds, allowing caffeine concentration to be altered when crossed with a species containing caffeine. Seeds from ''C. charrieriana'' are currently being developed to become the first naturally caffeine-free coffee available on the market, this bean being coined ''Decaffito'' by Brazilian developers. Another possible use of ''C. charrieriana'' is extracting 5-caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) from the coffee leaves, as most ''Coffea'' species, including ''C. charrieriana'', contain natural

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

compounds. This natural antioxidant can be used in food and

nutraceuticals Nutraceutical is a terminology evolved scientifically & also through marketing which is used to imply a drug, pharmaceutical effect from plant extracts, compounds, food products which have efficacy and therapeutic influence on clinical outcomes and ...

.Loizzo, Monica Rosa, and Rosa Tundis. 2019. "Plant Antioxidant For Application In Food And Nutraceutical Industries". Antioxidants 8 (10): 453. doi:10.3390/antiox8100453. Coffea Diversa Farm in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

is currently cultivating ''C. charrieriana.''Wallengren, Maja. "Costa Rica takes coffee sustainability to a higher level." Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, March 2015, 24+. Gale General OneFile (accessed October 10, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A421625205/ITOF?u=usyd&sid=ITOF&xid=70552e99

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2671806 charreriana Flora of Cameroon Plants described in 2008