Tapping the biological and chemical diversity of Canada's plants: An interdisciplinary approach

利用加拿大植物的生物和化学多样性：跨学科方法

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-05453
• 负责人: Harris, Cory
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=708219
• 关键词: Tapping; biological; chemical; diversity; Canada

Plant metabolites are vital to global ecosystems and economies. Ecologically, they sustain food chains, mediate interspecific interactions, and shape co-evolutionary relationships. Economically, humans have harnessed plant chemistry for food, medicine, pesticides, biofuels and other industrial or cultural purposes. In Canada, despite unsurpassed boreal and arctic biodiversity, distinct southern ecosystems and rich indigenous traditional knowledge, our plants remain surprisingly unexplored and underdeveloped by science. Moreover, while the ecology and human uses of plants are fundamentally linked through the biochemical effects generated by plant chemistry, the two perspectives are seldom integrated and explored to provide insight on one another. My proposed program targets groups of plants that are economically important with rich yet unstudied native biodiversity. Because Canada has too many plants to investigate, we identify species and chemicals of scientific and societal interest by integrating perspectives in plant evolution and ecology, plant chemistry and pharmacology, and ethnobotany (the relationship between plants and people). Under overarching themes of plant ecology and sustainable resource development, our research aims to understand how, when and why plants produce biologically active substances and to identify promising plant species for development as functional foods, natural health products (NHPs), biopharmaceuticals or pest and biological control agents. With the long-term goal of establishing a world-class research and training program, we bridge basic science to real world applications that support economic opportunity and innovative products as well as sound public policy, programs and education that benefit Canadian communities, industries, and ecosystems. To achieve this goal, we use different types of research (laboratory, greenhouse, field and community-based) research and collaborate with industry, government and First Nations and Inuit communities. Studying our nation's unique plant diversity and indigenous traditional knowledge, my program currently focuses on three groups of plant: the sunflower family (Asteraceae), the blueberry family (Ericaceae) and, more generally, plants that could be edible but may be toxic. Through our research, we will identify plants and new compounds for potential development as new products, inform best practices for cultivating and harvesting high-value crops for optimized quality and safety, and improve access to high quality food resources in indigenous communities. Offering enthusiastic young scientists training and experience in different scientific fields, on advanced technical equipment, and with private and public sector partners, my program will also help provide the next generation of leaders with valuable expertise and professional networks.

植物代谢物对全球生态系统和经济至关重要。在生态学上，它们维持着食物链，调节着种间的相互作用，塑造着共同进化的关系。在经济上，人类利用植物化学来生产食品、医药、杀虫剂、生物燃料和其他工业或文化目的。在加拿大，尽管拥有无与伦比的北方和北极生物多样性，独特的南方生态系统和丰富的土著传统知识，但我们的植物仍然令人惊讶地未被科学探索和开发。此外，虽然植物的生态和人类利用是通过植物化学产生的生化效应而基本联系在一起的，但这两个观点很少得到整合和探索，以提供彼此的见解。