Genetic diversity of the endemic flat-needle pine Pinus krempfii (Pinaceae) from Vietnam revealed by SSR markers.

Pinus krempfii Lecomte (Pinaceae) is an endemic tree to Vietnam with restricted habitats at higher altitudes in the highlands. In this study, genetic variation of four populations of P. krempfii was assessed using 17 microsatellite markers (single sequence repeats). Of these 17 markers, eight were polymorphic, and among the 42 putative alleles amplified, 32 were polymorphic (accounting for 76.19%). The Cong Troi population was found to be the most genetically diverse (Shannon's information index, I = 0.415, and percentage of polymorphic bands, PPB = 52.95%), whereas the Hon Giao population was found to have the lowest diversity (I = 0.330 and PPB = 47.06%). The genetic diversity at species level was also estimated (I = 0.414, PPB = 76.19%). Molecular variance was found to be low among populations (11.94%) and high among individuals within the populations (88.06%). Private alleles were not detected in the Hon Giao population. The Yang Ly population had a positive FIS (inbreeding coefficient) value of 0.071, while the three remaining populations had negative values (-0.116 for Cong Troi, -0.316 for Chu Yang Sin, and -0.350 for Hon Giao). The results obtained show an excess of homozygosity in the Yang Ly population, and also suggest a deficiency of heterozygosity for this population. Several approaches and measures of conservation for P. krempfii are discussed and proposed.

Ethnobotanical approach versus random approach in the search for new bioactive compounds: support of a hypothesis.

CONTEXT: Whether natural product drug discovery programs should rely on wild plants collected "randomly" from the natural environment, or whether they should also include plants collected on the basis of use in traditional medicine remains an open question. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes whether plants with ethnomedical uses from Vietnam and Laos have a higher hit rate in bioassay testing than plants collected from a national park in Vietnam with the goal of maximizing taxonomic diversity ("random" collection). MATERIALS AND METHODS: All plants were extracted and subjected to bioassay in the same laboratories. Results of assays of plant collections and plant parts (samples) were scored as active or inactive based on whether any extracts had a positive result in a bioassay. Contingency tables were analyzed using χ(2) statistics. RESULTS: Random collections had a higher hit rate than ethnomedical collections, but for samples, ethnomedical plants were more likely to be active. Ethnomedical collections and samples had higher hit rates for tuberculosis, while samples, but not collections, had a higher hit rate for malaria. Little evidence was found to support an advantage for ethnomedical plants in HIV, chemoprevention and cancer bioassays. Plants whose ethnomedical uses directly correlated to a bioassay did not have a significantly higher hit rate than random plants. DISCUSSION: Plants with ethnomedical uses generally had a higher rate of activity in some drug discovery bioassays, but the assays did not directly confirm specific uses. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnomedical uses may contribute to a higher rate of activity in drug discovery screening.

Ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology and mass bioprospecting: issues on intellectual property and benefit-sharing.

Ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology has contributed to the discovery of many important plant-derived drugs. Field explorations to seek and document indigenous/traditional medical knowledge (IMK/TMK), and/or the biodiversity with which the IMK/TMK is attached, and its conversion into a commercialized product is known as bioprospecting or biodiversity prospecting. When performed in a large-scale operation, the effort is referred to as mass bioprospecting. Experiences from the mass bioprospecting efforts undertaken by the United States National Cancer Institute, the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups (NCDDG) and the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) programs demonstrate that mass bioprospecting is a complex process, involving expertise from diverse areas of human endeavors, but central to it is the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that recognizes issues on genetic access, prior informed consent, intellectual property and the sharing of benefits that may arise as a result of the effort. Future mass bioprospecting endeavors must take heed of the lessons learned from past and present experiences in the planning for a successful mass bioprospecting venture.

The UIC ICBG (University of Illinois at Chicago International Cooperative Biodiversity Group) Memorandum of Agreement: a model of benefit-sharing arrangement in natural products drug discovery and development.

The Convention on Biodiversity mandates a new approach to the discovery of natural product drugs, one that incorporates concepts of national ownership of genetic resources, intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge, and sharing of economic benefits with countries that are the source of new natural products. The International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program was established to support experimentation in implementation of the Convention through development and execution of international agreements for bioprospecting. The agreement of one such ICBG program, between the University of Illinois at Chicago and institutions in Vietnam and Laos, is presented here. The core elements contained in the single, five-way Memorandum of Agreement are the arrangements for intellectual property rights, treatment of informed consent, and plans for benefit-sharing (including the sharing of short- and long-term royalty benefits, capacity building, and community reciprocity). Program participants were able to develop a practical and flexible agreement that satisfies the wishes of all institutions that are parties to it.