Theobroma cacao which climates become more extreme in the narrow band of latitudes where cacao is grown (20 degrees north and south of the equator), the commercial company, Mars, Incorporated and the University of California, Berkeley are using CRISPR to adjust DNA for improved hardiness of cacao in hot climates. Theobroma cacao Theobroma cacao, also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of the Americas. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make cocoa mass, cocoa powder, confectionery, ganache and chocolate. Leaves are alternate,
Peter Posnette Peter Posnette Peter Posnette (real name Adrian Frank Posnette) (11 January 1914 – 17 July 2004) was a British plant pathologist. He was born in the South Birmingham area and educated at Cheltenham Grammar School. He entered Christ's College, Cambridge to study zoology but then accepted a Colonial Agricultural Service research studentship in plant genetics. After studying at the Cambridge University School of Agriculture, he moved to the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad to carry out a research project into the pollination of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao). In 1937 he moved to the Gold Coast as a