Key Lab of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People's Republic of China, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
Yunnan Branch, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinghong, 666100, China.
Sci China Life Sci. 2019 Mar;62(3):288-308. doi: 10.1007/s11427-018-9352-7. Epub 2018 Aug 14.
From Shen Nong's Herbal Classic (Shennong Bencao Jing) to the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) and the first scientific Nobel Prize for the mainland of China, each milestone in the historical process of the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) involves screening, testing and integrating. After thousands of years of inheritance and development, herbgenomics (bencaogenomics) has bridged the gap between TCM and international advanced omics studies, promoting the application of frontier technologies in TCM. It is a discipline that uncovers the genetic information and regulatory networks of herbs to clarify their molecular mechanism in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. The main theoretical system includes genomics, functional genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, metagenomics, synthetic biology, pharmacogenomics of TCM, and bioinformatics, among other fields. Herbgenomics is mainly applicable to the study of medicinal model plants, genomic-assisted breeding, herbal synthetic biology, protection and utilization of gene resources, TCM quality evaluation and control, and TCM drug development. Such studies will accelerate the application of cutting-edge technologies, revitalize herbal research, and strongly promote the development and modernization of TCM.
从《神农本草经》到《本草纲目》，再到中国内地首位诺贝尔科学奖，中医药发展历史进程中的每一个里程碑都涉及筛选、检测和整合。经过几千年的传承和发展，草药基因组学（中草药基因组学）弥合了中医药与国际先进组学研究之间的差距，推动了前沿技术在中医药中的应用。它是一门揭示草药遗传信息和调控网络的学科，旨在阐明其在防治人类疾病中的分子机制。主要理论体系包括基因组学、功能基因组学、蛋白质组学、转录组学、代谢组学、表观基因组学、宏基因组学、合成生物学、中药药物基因组学和生物信息学等领域。草药基因组学主要适用于药用模式植物的研究、基因组辅助育种、草药合成生物学、基因资源的保护和利用、中药质量评价和控制，以及中药药物开发。这些研究将加速前沿技术的应用，振兴草药研究，有力推动中医药的发展和现代化。
