ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 13 U.S.
Echinacea
Germplasm Collection......................................................................................... 13 Preliminary Measures of Germplasm Diversity ............................................................................ 14 Population Genetics ....................................................................................................................... 15 Phylogenetics ................................................................................................................................ 16 The Potential of Genomics ............................................................................................................ 17 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 18 References ...................................................................................................................................... 18
In a survey of over 200 articles on
Echinacea
taken from the mainstream scientific literature between January 1998 and June 2002, only 3% of the publications reported specifically on genetic research. The majority of citations (55%) focused on human therapeutic or pharmacological investigations, 20% were of agricultural or horticultural interest, 18% were phytochemical analyses, and the rest were miscellaneous. Considering the history of use of this genus and its potential economic value, the paucity of genetic studies is striking. The literature emphasis may certainly be justified by the recent need to investigate the scientific basis of human pharmaceutical applications for
Echinacea
,
and the corollary need to cultivate the relevant species and to characterize their biochemistry. However, we are working in an era of rapid gene discovery, of structural, functional, and biochemical genomics, and the dearth of information on even basic genetics should be a concern to all in the
Echinacea
research community. It would be timely and pragmatic to begin characterizing the genetic basis of
Echinacea
phytochemistry, to identify the structural (biosynthetic enzyme encoding) and regulatory genes, the proteins and pathways generating its natural products, and to ultimately understand the molecular, developmental, and environmental signals controlling the expression and variability of its complex suite of biochemical traits. Competitive advances in pharmaceutical and other economic uses of
Echinacea
will hinge on genetic and genomic characterization of this genus.
