Exploring Echinacea’s Enigmatic Origins
|
 |
Category: AgricultureType: News
Source: USDA Agriculture Research Service
Date: Friday, March 5th, 2010
An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist is helping to sort through the jumbled genetics of Echinacea, the coneflower known for its blossoms-and its potential for treating infections, inflammation, and other human ailments.
Only a few Echinacea species are currently cultivated as botanical remedies, and plant breeders would like to know whether other types also possess commercially useful traits. ARS horticulturist Mark Widrlechner, who works at the ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) in Ames, Iowa, is partnering in research to find out how many distinct Echinacea species exist. Previous studies have put the number between 4 and 9 species, depending on classification criteria.
Working with Iowa State University scientists, Widrlechner selected 40 diverse Echinacea populations for DNA analysis from the many populations conserved at the NCRPIS. Most of these Echinacea populations were found to have a remarkable range of genetic diversity.
DNA analysis suggested that when much of North America was covered with glaciers, Echinacea found southern refuges on both sides of the Mississippi River. But when the glaciers receded after thousands of years, the groups came together as they moved northward and began to hybridize, which might have blurred previous genetic distinctions.
The research team also analyzed the same populations for chemical differences in root metabolites. These metabolites, which are often essential for survival and propagation, can vary widely among species and may have benefits for human health.
Using this approach, researchers were able to identify clear distinctions among all 40 populations. These distinctions were organized into 3 composite profiles that accounted for almost 95 percent of the metabolite variation among the populations.
Additional analysis of metabolite variation indicated that the populations grouped together in ways that aligned well with earlier Echinacea species assignments that were based on plant morphology. This work suggested that there were 9 distinct species, not just four.
Results from this work were published in Planta Medica.
Read more about this research in the March 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S.D.A..
There are currently no comments for this story. Be the first to
add a comment!
Click here to add a comment about this story.
Sequencing of Cacao Genome Will Help U.S. Chocolate Industry, Subsistence Farmers in Tropical Regions
... effort is the result of a partnership between USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS); Mars, Incorporated , of McLean, ... together by this unique partnership, researchers and plant breeders will be able to accelerate the genetic improvement of the cacao ...
Better Beans Mean Better Health for All
... better source of an essential nutrient-iron. That's a goal of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) physiologist Raymond P. Glahn . ... -deficient. Some of the Ithaca investigations are designed to determine how plant breeders and others might boost beans' ...
Saint John's Wort Collection Mined for Its Medicinal Value
... ) curated by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, is providing university collaborators with genetically ... at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, scientists from the Center for Research on Botanical ...
New Switchgrass Germplasm Collected in Florida
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators have collected 46 new populations of switchgrass ... System (NPGS), where it will be preserved and maintained for future research by plant breeders and others interested in improving this valuable ...
Watermelon Line May Help Breeders Combat Mildew
Agricultural Research Service ( ARS ) researchers and cooperators are introducing watermelon stock that may help breeders ... it. According to Angela R. Davis , geneticist at the ARS South Central Agricultural Research Lab in Lane, Okla., watermelon ...
New Method to Speed Breeders' Search for Disease-Resistant Beans
... will consistently show the same traits. Bean breeders rely on such plants as a genetic base from which to ... different version that actually gives the plant susceptibility to diseases. Now, Agricultural Research Service scientists George Vandemark and ...
Superb New Spuds from ARS Potato Breeders
... to supper on a cold winter evening. Agricultural Research Service potato breeders and their university and industry ... and potassium. An article in the current issue of the ARS monthly journal, Agricultural Research , tells more about progress in potato ...
Rice Breeders Speed Variety Development
... to new technology that speeded their development. Agricultural Research Service scientists at Beaumont, Texas , and their ... the rice genome. An article about the research appears in the December issue of ARS' Agricultural Research magazine and on the ...
Plant Explorers Seek Wild Lesquerella
... mustard family plant with oils that might be used for industrial products, will begin this spring for Agricultural Research Service scientists ... , cosmetics and other products, according to ARS lesquerella breeder David A. Dierig at Phoenix, Arizona America ...
New Trefoils Ready for Forage Breeders
... and big trefoil plants released by Agricultural Research Service scientists. Unlike alfalfa, ... they fix nitrogen into the soil for later use by grasses and forbs. This can reduce ... .orst.edu ; Paul Beuselinck, ARS Plant Genetics Research Unit, Columbia, Mo ...
