The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) have succeeded in whole genome sequencing of Basil or Tulsi plant.
This is the first time a complete genome sequence of Tulsi has been done. Tulsi has been used for thousands of years in traditional systems of medicine in India for its diverse healing properties
Dr. Ajit Kumar Shasany, scientist who lead the research, was quoted by the Indian Science Journal, as saying that the research will provide scientific validity to the claims of Tulsi’s utility in medicinal usage.
“The genome sequence will help understand and unravel the secrets of this ‘mother of all herbs’ and to provide scientific validity to the traditional claims of its utility in diverse medicinal usage,” Shasany
told Indian Science Journal.
“Tulsi is a repository of molecules. Hence, if we understand the Tulsi genome, we can understand the pathways of biosynthesis of these molecules. The chloroplast genome map of Tulsi (142,245 bp), is the smallest in the Lamiaceae family. The Tulsi plant has a small genome (386 mb) with 16 chromosomes, where the genes are packed with useful information compared to genomes of other reported plants,” he added.
Dr. Shasany further said that based on whole genome sequencing or DNA coding, the CIMAP and several other organisations are now conducting further research to validate the curative properties of different molecules as claimed by Indian traditional systems of medicine.
All parts of Tulsi plant are used in several systems of traditional medicine, including Ayurveda, Greek, Roman, Siddha, and Unani.
‘Tulsi’ is rich in phenylpropanoids, terpenoids and their derivatives, and many of these are implicated for different therapeutic activities. The availability of the genome sequence now opens the possibility to identify genes involved in producing therapeutic molecules and to produce them in vitro.
This will also facilitate identification of not yet identified genes involved in the synthesis of important secondary metabolites in this plant. Specific pathway related genes identified or mined in this
genome could be used for the production of secondary metabolites following synthetic biology approaches.
The development of molecular tools and genomic resources will accelerate molecular breeding and ultimately the utility of basil in medical community. (ANI)