Popular Science:

" In a monumental step for chocolate lovers — ah, let's be honest, the whole of humankind — scientists announced today they have completed a preliminary genome sequence for the cacao tree.

OK, maybe it's not that monumental; new genomes are sequenced all the time. But this one is special — cacao is no ordinary plant. Who cares about the corn genome when you can study chocolate instead?

The genome sequence, which enters the public domain today, is the result of a partnership among a few unlikely bedfellows: Mars Inc., maker of M&Ms, Milky Way bars and other treats; the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service; and IBM. The trio hopes international agricultural researchers will immediately start refining the sequence. As with any gene mapping project, decoding the complete genome will take some time.

In a twist, the New York Times reports that a competing team, led by Mars rival Hershey, is also working on its own genome sequence. That team won't discuss its findings until they are published in a scientific journal, however.

The Mars team's preliminary results will be available via the Cacao Genome Database, to ensure that the data remains perpetually patent-free. The Times quotes Hershey's team saying they will also make their sequence available, but won't restrict patents.

Mars hopes its $10 million investment will pay off eventually, said Howard-Yana Shapiro, the firm's global staff officer of plant science and research.


Although it may not benefit the bottom line in the short term, in the long run, it will ensure mutually beneficial results for the company, cocoa farmers and tree crop production in key regions of the world," he said."