A popular South American beverage may hold genetic secrets about aging and cellular health, according to groundbreaking research published this month in the journal eLife. Scientists have successfully mapped the genome of yerba mate, the plant used to make one of the world’s most widely consumed caffeinated drinks, revealing unexpected insights into how its beneficial compounds evolved.
“Yerba mate, for me, represents the most beautiful thing about the culture of my home country, Argentina – a drink that unites us, accompanies us, and is present in every moment of our lives,” said Federico Vignale, the study’s first author and a postdoc at EMBL Hamburg.
The research team discovered that yerba mate’s ancestor underwent a major genetic event approximately 50 million years ago, duplicating its entire genome. This ancient doubling may explain the plant’s remarkable ability to produce a diverse array of beneficial compounds.
“I discovered that an ancestor of yerba had duplicated its genome approximately 50 million years ago,” Vignale explained. “This ancestral duplication may have been key in the evolution of its metabolic complexity, allowing it to synthesise a wide range of bioactive compounds, such as terpenes, flavonoids, phenols, and xanthines, known for their antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and nervous system stimulant properties.”
The findings provide new insights into how caffeine production evolved independently in different plants. By studying yerba mate’s genetic code, the scientists found that it developed its own unique pathway to produce caffeine, distinct from coffee plants, despite both being members of the same broader plant family.
“By reading the genome you would know how to intervene and modify the plant,” said Adrián Turjanski, the project leader from the University of Buenos Aires. “One could propose making it richer in certain characteristics, for example, a decaffeinated yerba mate, or one that is better adapted to other lands, and thus expand its cultivation.”
The research carries significant implications for agriculture and human health. Yerba mate is currently cultivated on approximately 300,000 hectares, with Argentina responsible for 80% of worldwide production. Understanding its genetic makeup could lead to varieties with enhanced health benefits or improved resistance to environmental stresses.
The study represents a collaboration across three continents, involving scientists from EMBL Hamburg, several institutes in Argentina and Brazil, and multiple universities in the United States. Their work was supported by the CABANA project, which aims to strengthen bioinformatics research capacity across Latin America.
As global interest in natural health products continues to grow, this research opens new possibilities for understanding and potentially enhancing the beneficial properties of yerba mate. The findings may also help scientists better understand how plants evolve complex traits, potentially leading to improvements in other important crop species.
The complete research findings are available in the journal eLife under the title “Selenoprotein-Mediated Redox Regulation Shapes the Cell Fate of HSCs and Mature Lineages.”