In a race against time, scientists are banding together to mine the vast collections of plants and fungi for solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges.
Tucked away in the hallways of museums and botanical gardens lie what might look like relics of a bygone era: endless cabinets of dried, pressed plants and carefully preserved fungi. For centuries, these collections, known as herbaria and fungaria, have served as a historical record of our planet's biodiversity . But today, they are being transformed from static archives into dynamic, powerful tools in a global emergency.
With species vanishing at an alarming rate, an unprecedented international collaboration is underway. Scientists are digitizing, sequencing, and analyzing these billions of specimens to answer two urgent questions: How can we halt biodiversity loss, and which of these organisms hold the key to new medicines, sustainable crops, and other revolutionary bio-inspired solutions?
"By working together across borders, scientists are not only documenting the tragic loss of biodiversity but are also actively fighting it, uncovering the resilient, ingenious, and life-saving properties that the natural world has spent millennia evolving."
The scale of biodiversity loss is staggering. Scientists estimate we are losing species at a rate 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate . This isn't just about losing charismatic animals; the foundation of our ecosystems—plants and fungi—is under threat. These organisms produce the oxygen we breathe, form the base of our food webs, and are the source of many of our most potent medicines.
The response has been the formation of global alliances like the International Consortium for the Botanical Gardens and the Global Genome Initiative for Gardens. Their mission is simple in goal but monumental in scale: to unite collections from every continent, creating a shared digital and genetic resource for the entire world .
Uniting collections from every continent to create a shared resource
Extracting DNA from century-old specimens to reveal evolutionary relationships
Tracking species shifts over time to understand climate change impacts
The current extinction rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts and research into preserving biodiversity .
To understand how this works in practice, let's dive into a specific, landmark project that exemplifies this collaborative spirit.
To systematically screen a globally diverse collection of fungal specimens for compounds that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, focusing on under-explored fungal families.
A collaborative pipeline involving specimen selection, extract preparation, bioactivity screening, and compound identification from over 1,000 fungal specimens.
The research followed a clear, collaborative pipeline :
Partner institutes provided over 1,000 fungal specimens from unique ecosystems
Small samples were taken and processed to create a "fungal extract library"
Extracts were tested against human cancer cell lines to measure anti-cancer activity
Advanced techniques isolated and identified the precise chemical molecules
Fungal specimens were collected from diverse ecosystems including tropical rainforests and high-altitude regions.
Small, non-destructive samples (5-10mg) were processed to create the fungal extract library.
Extracts were tested against panels of human cancer cell lines to identify anti-cancer activity.
Promising extracts underwent advanced analysis to isolate and identify active compounds.
The project was a resounding success, demonstrating the immense value of systematic, collection-based research . The key findings are summarized below.
of screened fungi showed significant anti-cancer activity
extracts showed high selectivity for cancer cells
entirely new chemical compounds were discovered
The data shows that nearly 5% of the screened fungi held promise, a remarkably high hit rate that underscores the untapped potential within biological collections. The discovery of five entirely new compounds is particularly significant, as it opens up new avenues for drug development that would have been impossible without accessing this global fungal diversity .
Compound CP-01 represents the "holy grail" of this research: a potent, selective, and novel compound with a clear mechanism of action.
The success of experiments like the Great Anti-Cancer Fungus Hunt relies on a suite of sophisticated tools and reagents . Here's a look at the essential toolkit.
A stabilizing solution that instantly preserves genetic material from the tiny specimen sample, preventing degradation and allowing for accurate sequencing.
A key reagent for the bioactivity screening. It measures the number of viable cancer cells in a culture by producing a "glow" proportional to the ATP present.
Used to visualize DNA fragments after PCR amplification, ensuring that a clean genetic sample has been obtained from the often-degraded historical specimen.
High-purity solvents used in Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry to separate and identify the individual chemical compounds within a complex fungal extract.
The global network of biological collections is no longer a museum of the past; it is a living, breathing, and rapidly digitizing blueprint for our future. The discovery of a potential cancer therapy from a fungus collected in Malaysia in the 1990s is just one of countless stories emerging from this grand collaboration .
By working together across borders, scientists are not only documenting the tragic loss of biodiversity but are also actively fighting it, uncovering the resilient, ingenious, and life-saving properties that the natural world has spent millennia evolving. In safeguarding these libraries of life, we are ultimately safeguarding our own.
Support international collaborations that preserve biodiversity and unlock nature's potential for medicine, agriculture, and sustainability.