Catharanthus roseus (IMAGE)

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Catharanthus roseus

Caption

The Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) of the dogbane family produces a number of alkaloids of medicinal interest. Analyses at the level of different cell types enabled the discovery of still missing genes for the biosynthesis of the two most important natural products from the plant, vincristine and vinblastine (skeletal formula), which are used as chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment against cancer.

Credit

Angela Overmeyer, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

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License

CC BY-SA

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