Mining the chemodiversity of the genus Myrica to reveal bioactive molecules for their medicinal uses

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The main aims of this project are to: 1. Build new understanding of the bioactive components of Myrica species. The extensive plant Collections at Kew (include >85 Myrica Herbarium specimens from different geographic locations) will be sampled and analysed chemically to assess whether geography or environment, or plant part, are determinants of medicinal plant chemistry by mapping the occurrence of chemical constituents in a spatial context. Chemical traits across the genus and intraspecifically (M. salicifolia) will be compared to identify the most suitable Myrica sources (based on chemodiversity) to select for detailed bioactivity studies. 2. Identify molecular mechanism(s) of Myrica bioactive molecules from to explain their current and potential medicinal uses. The established expertise in the non-animal pharmacogenetic model Dictyostelium discoideum, will be employed to provide unique information regarding the molecular mechanisms and targets for the major Myrica extracts constituents using innovative molecular genetic techniques. Identified molecular targets will be validated using in silico modelling of direct chemical-target interactions, and through rescue of mutants by heterologous expression of human proteins.