Historical shifts and ecological patterns: Rethinking genome size evolution in Coffea L.

Clicks: 1
ID: 314628
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #55 of 60 articles by views in journal of evolutionary biology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Although genome size (GS) is decoupled from organismal complexity, a phenomenon known as the C-value paradox, some authors have proposed that GS may play an adaptive role when correlated with ecologically relevant traits. Among diploid Coffea, GS variation is modest but measurable, offering an opportunity to test this hypothesis. Using a well-resolved phylogeny and phylogenetic comparative methods, we evaluated whether GS is phylogenetically correlated with ecological traits including latitudinal range, elevational distribution, thermal tolerance, and caffeine content (CAF). GS showed substantial phylogenetic signal and correlated positively with CAF, but no phylogenetic association was detected with the other variables. Notably, this association traces to a single, lineage-specific shift at the base of a clade comprising the species with the largest genomes and highest CAF, occurring in West and Central Africa. Comparisons between two sequenced genomes, Coffea canephora and C. eugenioides, which differ in caffeine production, revealed that gene copy number does not correlate with CAF levels, suggesting that increases in caffeine production are more likely driven by regulatory changerather than gene duplication. Overall, these findings do not support a generalized adaptive model for GS evolution in Coffea, but instead indicate that the observed associations reflect lineage-specific historical events rather than direct adaptive responses.
Reference Key
openalex_W7162132270 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Sara Gonçalves Barbosa, Mariana Cansian Sattler, Maicon Nardino, Tiago Olivoto, Karla Yotoko
Journal journal of evolutionary biology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/jeb/voag035
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.