Why Pilocarpus?

 

I chose to work with the genus Pilocarpus because it is a very important medicinal plant which has not been comprehensively studied. Because it is not economically feasible to synthesize the medicinal compounds in the laboratory it is still currently extracted from the plant itself. Pilocarpine, the main compound used in Modern Medicine is actually on the World Health Organizations list of essential medicine needed in basic health. The group of alkaloids, Imidazole Alkaloids, which are found in this genus are also not found in any other group of plants. For this reason it is very important to continue work on this particular genus.  

The genus Pilocarpus has a distribution which ranges from the Southwestern tip of Mexico all along the Antilles, and down to the northernmost region of Argentina. The diversity of the genus is centered in Brazil where 14 of the 16 species can be found. Pilocarpus pennatifolius is the species that I am focusing on in this genus, and it has a wide latitudinal gradient from the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil down to the northern region of Argentina. This species is also interesting because of the diversity of Imidazole Alkaloids present. A better understanding of the genetic diversity present in multiple populations of Pilocarpus pennatifolius could help many different studies and this sequencing will be a huge resource to both current and future work on this genus.

(The image above shows the inflorescence of Pilocarpus pennatifolius and was taken in March 2016 in the field in Brazil)