Using functional genomics approaches in identifying molecular determinants of coffee quality. A review

Abstract

The coffee seed contains all the necessary precursors to generate the full complement of coffee aromas and flavours. Coffee seed reserves are composed mainly of cell wall polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, sucrose and secondary metabolites including chlorogenic acids, caffeine and trigonelline. Because all of these compounds are involved in the complex chemistry of coffee roasting, understanding coffee quality ultimately requires a detailed characterization of the metabolic pathways dedicated to the synthesis of these aroma/flavour precursors which includes the transcriptional regulation for the genes encoding the relevant enzymes. This review focuses on the latest advances regarding functional genomics and its use in deciphering metabolic pathways that occur during coffee seed development. © 2007 John Libbey Eurotext.