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Chinese-UK project reveals ancient secrets of medicinal mint

Scutellaria-flowersmall

The precious chemistry of a plant used for 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine has been unlocked in a project that raises the prospect of rapid access to a wide array of therapeutic drugs. Carried out by CEPAMS – a partnership between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the John Innes Centre – the project has successfully delivered a high-quality reference genome of the mint-family member Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.

The plant, commonly known as Chinese Skullcap, is well-known in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is cultivated worldwide for its therapeutic properties. Preparations of its dried roots, ‘Huang Qin’, show pharmacological activities conferred by novel compounds called flavonoids, including antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-cancer, liver-protective and neuroprotective properties.

Despite the commercial interest and increasing demand for Scutellaria, improvements through breeding have been limited by a lack of genome information.

The development means that researchers are now able to identify the genes that produce a wealth of valuable compounds, and then turn them into drug candidates using metabolic engineering techniques in the lab. The sequencing project outlined in the journal Molecular Plant, also provides a reference gateway for genetic exploration of other valuable members of the Lamiaceae or mint family.

Read the full article
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Recent Posts

  • Evangelis TatsisJohn Innes Centre link strengthened by Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship
  • 1-3_曹晓风CEPAMS Co-Director is elected as a member of the US National Academy
  • CEPAMs virtual signingChina-UK Centre of Excellence expands to tackle global challenges

Publications

Scutellaria-rootsmall
The Reference Genome Sequence of Scutellaria baicalensis Provides Insights into the Evolution of Wogonin Biosynthesis

Qing Zhao, Jun Yang, Meng-Ying Cui, Jie Liu, Yumin Fang, Mengxiao Yan, Wenqing Qiu, Huiwen Shang, Zhicheng Xu, Reheman Yidiresi, Jing-Ke Weng, Tomáš Pluskal, Marielle Vigouroux, Burkhard Steuernagel, Yukun Wei, Lei Yang, Yong hongHu, Xiao-Ya Chen & Cathie Martin

Yang-bai-nature
NRT1.1B is associated with root microbiota composition and nitrogen use in field-grown rice

Jingying Zhang, Yong-Xin Liu, Na Zhang, Bin Hu, Tao Jin, Haoran Xu, Yuan Qin, Pengxu Yan, Xiaoning Zhang, Xiaoxuan Guo, Jing Hui, Shouyun Cao, Xin Wang, Chao Wang, Hui Wang, Baoyuan Qu, Guangyi Fan, Lixing Yuan, Ruben Garrido-Oter, Chengcai Chu & Yang Bai

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A specialized metabolic network selectively modulates Arabidopsis root microbiota

Ancheng C. Huang, Ting Jiang, Yong-Xin Liu, Yue-Chen Bai, James Reed, Baoyuan Qu, Alain Goossens, Hans-Wilhelm Nützmann, Yang Bai, Anne Osbourn.

CEPAMS
Chinese Academy of Sciences - John Innes Centre
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