Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38441303›Full record

ArticleAnnals of botany2024

Crop-to-wild gene flow in wild coffee species: the case of Coffea canephora in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Lauren Verleysen, Jonas Depecker, Robrecht Bollen, Justin Asimonyio, Yves Hatangi, Jean-Léon Kambale, Ithe Mwanga Mwanga, Thsimi Ebele, Benoit Dhed'a, Piet Stoffelen and 3 more

Abstract read
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Article in Annals of botany, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Genetic diversity and population structure ofFrontiers in plant science · 2026
    Article
  5. Genetic improvement of robusta coffee (Frontiers in plant science · 2025
    Review
  6. Evaluating physiological traits ofPhotosynthetica · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Lauren VerleysenDivision of Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Jonas DepeckerDivision of Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-3235-3305
Robrecht BollenDivision of Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Justin AsimonyioCentre de Surveillance de la Biodiversité et Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, DR Congo.
Yves HatangiMeise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium.
Jean-Léon KambaleCentre de Surveillance de la Biodiversité et Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, DR Congo.
Ithe Mwanga MwangaCentre de Recherche en Science Naturelles, Lwiro, DR Congo.
Thsimi EbeleInstitut National des Etudes et Recherches Agronomique, Yangambi, DR Congo.
Benoit Dhed'aUniversité de Kisangani, Kisangani, DR Congo.
Piet StoffelenMeise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium.
Tom RuttinkPlant Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Melle, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-1012-9399
Filip VandelookDivision of Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Olivier HonnayDivision of Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Funding

Belgian Science Policy Office 632 B2/191/P1/COFFEEBRIDGEResearch Foundation-Flanders 1125221N
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsPlant breeders are increasingly turning to crop wild relatives (CWRs) to ensure food security in a rapidly changing environment. However, CWR populations are confronted with various human-induced threats, including hybridization with their nearby cultivated crops. This might be a particular problem for wild coffee species, which often occur near coffee cultivation areas. Here, we briefly review the evidence for wild Coffea arabica (cultivated as Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (cultivated as Robusta coffee) and then focused on C. canephora in the Yangambi region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There, we examined the geographical distribution of cultivated C. canephora and the incidence of hybridization between cultivated and wild individuals within the rainforest.

methodsWe collected 71 C. canephora individuals from home gardens and 12 C. canephora individuals from the tropical rainforest in the Yangambi region and genotyped them using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). We compared the fingerprints with existing GBS data from 388 C. canephora individuals from natural tropical rainforests and the INERA Coffee Collection, a Robusta coffee field gene bank and the most probable source of cultivated genotypes in the area. We then established robust diagnostic fingerprints that genetically differentiate cultivated from wild coffee, identified cultivated-wild hybrids and mapped their geographical position in the rainforest. KEY

resultsWe identified cultivated genotypes and cultivated-wild hybrids in zones with clear anthropogenic activity, and where cultivated C. canephora in home gardens may serve as a source for crop-to-wild gene flow. We found relatively few hybrids and backcrosses in the rainforests.

conclusionsThe cultivation of C. canephora in close proximity to its wild gene pool has led to cultivated genotypes and cultivated-wild hybrids appearing within the natural habitats of C. canephora. Yet, given the high genetic similarity between the cultivated and wild gene pool, together with the relatively low incidence of hybridization, our results indicate that the overall impact in terms of risk of introgression remains limited so far.

Indexed as

CoffeaGene FlowCrops, AgriculturalDemocratic Republic of the CongoGenotypeHybridization, GeneticRainforestCoffea canephoraCongo Basincrop wild relatives (CWRs)cultivated–wild hybridizationfield gene bankgene flowintrogressionRobusta coffee

Identifiers

PMID38441303
PMCPMC11089259

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.