Genomics Evolution of Ethnomedicinal Plants in a Changing Environment

Humans have been using ethnomedicinal plants for centuries to cure certain diseases and illnesses and maintain stable health. Medicinal plants can synthesize several important compounds that signal, for example, protective metabolites when they undergo adverse conditions (abiotic and biotic). In recent decades, techniques have emerged (genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, epigenomic, herbgenomics, among other techniques) that can help medicinal plants (or ethnomedicinal plants) survive in hostile environments without causing their extinction. Numerous modern medicines were and have been developed from traditional medicinal plant knowledge, denoting the need for knowledge and conservation of these plants before they are entirely lost. We know that predicted climate change is a reality, and the population of these plants is likely threatened, which will result in an unprecedented change in traditional collection locations and practices. Therefore, in this chapter, we address the genomic evolution of ethnomedicinal plants through the climate changes that have been plaguing several countries. Thus, in this chapter, we try to address the genomic evolution of ethnomedicinal plants through the climate changes that have been plaguing several countries.