How AI is predicting the medicinal properties of plants
STORY: Scientists are using AI to find potential new medicines - in plants.
They say artificial intelligence can predict which unexplored plant species might hold potential for novel treatments.
The new study centers around what they call "the plant tree of life" - which is essentially a family tree of plants.
Scientists are hoping that unlocking the plant tree of life could even help find solutions to challenges like climate change - conservation - and food security.
A team at London's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has sequenced the DNA of more than 9,500 flowering plants, including 800 species for the first time.
Melanie-Jayne Howes is a senior research leader, who will use the data in her research.
"So by understanding, accurately, as from this dataset, how plants are related, this can enable us to understand how plants might have evolved and how they might have similar characteristics or properties that have enabled them, for example, to survive in their own environments but also, again, to help us identify which traits are common to closely related species to help us with potentially finding solutions to many challenges."
The dataset used 1.8 billion letters of genetic code to develop a comprehensive map of the evolutionary history of the plants.
It's expected to help in the discovery of new medicinal compounds.
By cross-referencing the genetic sequences with known medicinal properties, AI can predict which unexplored plant species might hold potential for novel treatments.
In addition to medicinal discovery, the data will assist in identifying new species, refining plant classification, and supporting conservation efforts.
The team has made all the data accessible to encourage more discoveries from the plant tree of life.
