Genomic and Transcriptomic Profiling: Tools for the Quality Production of Plant-Based Medicines

Abstract

A stable and controlled supply of plant-based medicines depends on the availability of high quality medicinal plants. Cultivation of medicinal plants used for the manufacture of traditional herbal medicines is considered to be a key element in the drive to modernize and internationalize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has motivated the cultivation and breeding of selected Chinese medicinal plants worldwide. In parallel, several research groups have developed plant tissue culture and in vitro micropropagation techniques for the cultivation, rapid propagation, and metabolic engineering of medicinal plants. Genetic markers such as microsatellites (SSR, simple sequence repeats; short tandem repeats) and single nucleotide polymorphisms are used for marker assisted breeding and quality assessment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology is rapidly becoming the method of choice for the characterization of genetic markers. An important advantage of sequencing-based approaches compared to electrophoresis-based DNA fingerprinting is that the DNA sequence is independent of the particular method that was used to generate it. Furthermore, DNA sequences can be deposited into public repositories for genetic information such as GenBank that can be searched easily using web interfaces as well as specialized bioinformatics software. Similarly, NGS can be used for transcriptomic and epigenetic studies.