WASHINGTON: Scientists have sequenced the genomes of two trees that produce cocoa beans, the basic ingredient in chocolate and a crop which millions depend on for a living, researchers said Wednesday.

In the United States, researchers from food-maker Mars, technology giant IBM, several universities and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said they have almost completely sequenced the genome of the Forastero cacao tree, which accounts for 80-90 percent of the world`s cocoa production.

"It`s a tree that would be like a common grandparent of almost all the cocoa that is grown in the world," David Kuhn, a biologist at the USDA and one of the leaders of the US sequencing effort, told AFP.

In Europe, meanwhile, researchers from six countries, led by France`s Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development (Cirad), sequenced the genome of the Criollo cacao tree, whose beans make up a much smaller percentage of global cocoa production.

Mark Guiltinan, who leads a plant biotechnology lab at Pennsylvania State University which did DNA sequencing, annotation and gene discovery, and helped write up the European research, said the Cirad-led team focused on a different cacao to the US team, partly to allow the two genome sequences to be compared.

"The comparison will tell us a lot," Guiltinan told AFP, adding the European team also chose to sequence Criollo because "it is known for its fine flavor and may growers would like to use this type if it were more productive."

Scientists have been searching for years for ways to produce cacao trees that can resist pests and diseases, tolerate drought and have higher crop yields.

The sequencing of Criollo reveals "the existence of hundreds of genes which are potentially involved in giving the cacao tree its unique qualities and mechanisms for resisting diseases that seriously affect farmers," Cirad said in a statement.

The two gene sequences will be used to accelerate the development of disease- and weather-resistant cacao trees whose beans produce high-quality, tasty cocoa, thus improving the lot of farmers and chocolate consumers worldwide, officials from the USDA and Cirad said.

"This will benefit not only the chocolate industry, but also millions of small farmers who will be able to continue to make their living from cacao," said Edward Knipling, administrator of the USDA`s agricultural research wing.

"This will benefit small producers in developing countries," Cirad added in its statement.

Cocoa is the third biggest raw material in the world after sugar and coffee, according to the International Cocoa Genome Sequencing Consortium.

Around three million tons of cocoa are produced annually, most of it in Africa. The largest cocoa-producing nation in the world is the west African nation of Ivory Coast, which produces around 40 percent of the world`s cocoa, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Produced mainly on smallholdings, cocoa directly and indirectly provides a living to up to 50 million people, according to the World Cocoa Foundation.

BDST: 1836 HRS, September 16, 2010