Plant-based research among the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups

Abstract

The International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG), administered by the Fogarty International Center, was created in 1992. By 2007, the program had completed three cycles of funding. In the last cycle (2003-2008), seven ICBGs were operating in biodiversity hotspots around the world with support from nine Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health and from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture. Accomplishments over the history of the program include discovery of numerous bioactive compounds, training of thousands of young scientists in the US and abroad, and the creation and enhancement of biodiversity protected areas around the world. Over the history of the ICBG program plant-based research has been a significant component of many projects. Over 10,000 species of tropical, temperate and arid lands plants from 350 plant families have been analyzed. While some of the research has been guided by ethnobotanical science, particularly science oriented toward botanical medicines, much has been focused around diversity-oriented collections, and some have used ecological principles to identify active compounds. While marine and microbial organisms have grown in importance among the natural products research community, plants will continue to play important roles for the foreseeable future.

Keywords::

• ICBG
• plant research
• biodiversity conservation
• drug discovery
• economic growth

Acknowledgements

This paper was first presented at the symposium “Plants in the service of human health: Continuing search for plant-based therapies” as part of the 48th annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany at Lake Forest College in Chicago, June 4, 2007.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Appendix 1. International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (2003-2008).

Biodiversity conservation and drug discovery in Madagascar

Dr. David G.I. Kingston of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, is collaborating in a fourth five-year ICBG to study tropical plants, marine organisms and microorganisms in Madagascar. The group includes Missouri Botanical Garden, Conservation International, the Madagascar National Centers for Pharmaceutical Research, for Environmental Research, and for Oceanographic Research as well as Eisai Research Institute and Dow Agrosciences.

ICBG: Training, conservation and drug discovery using Panamanian microorganisms

Dr. William H. Gerwick, in collaboration with colleagues at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, building on two previous five-year ICBG awards, continue a biodiscovery program in Panama for discovery of both pharmaceutical and agricultural products from endophytic fungi, cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria from both terrestrial and marine sources. Partners include the University of Panama, Panama’s National Secretariat for Science, Technology, and Innovation (INDICASAT), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, University of California San Diego, University of Utah, University of California Santa Cruz, Oregon State University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Arizona, Eisai Research Institute and Dow Agrosciences.

Biodiversity of Vietnam and Laos

Dr. Djaja (Doel) Soejarto and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Chicago are leading a second five-year ICBG to integrate studies on biodiversity and the discovery of pharmacological agents for AIDS, cancer, malaria and tuberculosis from tropical forest plants of Laos and Vietnam. Collaborating institutions include the National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology and Cuc-Phuong National Park in Vietnam, the Research Institute for Medicinal Plants in Laos, Purdue University, and Bristol Myers-Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

Building new pharmaceutical capabilities in central Asia

Dr. Ilya Raskin and colleagues from Rutgers University lead a project focused on the plant, fungal and microbial biodiversity of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Khazakhstan. Other partners include the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Tashkent State Agrarian University and Kyrgyz Agricultural Research Institute, Eisai Research Institute, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Phytomedics Inc., and WellGen.

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Papua New Guinea

Dr. Louis R. Barrows and colleagues from the University of Utah are collaborating with several organizations of Papua New Guinea as sources of pharmaceutical and botanical therapies for local and global health needs. Partners in this project include the University of Papua New Guinea, National Forest Research Institute, and PNG Bionet of Papua New Guinea, the Smithsonian Institution, University of Miami, Nature Conservancy, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Ecological leads: Drugs from reefs and microbes in Fiji

Dr. Mark Hay and colleagues of the Georgia Institute of Technology are collaborating with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of the South Pacific, and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission of Fiji to examine plant, freshwater and marine coral reef organisms of Fiji to assess conservation priorities and discover new therapeutic agents.

Potential drugs from poorly understood Costa Rican biota

Dr. Jon Clardy of Harvard University is collaborating with the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica (INBio) to explore poorly understood endophytic fungi and uncultured soil microbes of Costa Rica. Bioassays cover a wide diversity of therapeutic areas.