Project description:Breast cancer mortality is primarily due to the occurrence of metastatic disease. We have identified a novel potential therapeutic agent derived from an edible root of the plant Colocasia esculenta, commonly known as taro, which has demonstrable activity in a preclinical model of metastatic breast cancer and that should have minimal toxicity. We have shown for the first time that a water-soluble extract of taro (TE) potently inhibits lung-colonizing ability and spontaneous metastasis from mammary gland-implanted tumors, in a murine model of highly metastatic estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Her-2/neu-negative breast cancer. TE modestly inhibits the proliferation of some, but not all, breast and prostate cancer cell lines. Morphological changes including cell rounding were observed. Tumor cell migration was completely blocked by TE. TE treatment also inhibited prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis and downregulated cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 mRNA expression. We purified the active compound(s) to near homogeneity with antimetastatic activity comparable with stock TE. The active compound with a native size of approximately 25 kDa contains two fragments of nearly equal size. The N-terminal amino acid sequencing of both fragments reveals that the active compound is highly related to three taro proteins: 12-kDa storage protein, tarin and taro lectin. All are similar in terms of amino acid sequence, posttranslational processing and all contain a carbohydrate-binding domain. This is the first report describing compound(s) derived from taro that potently and specifically inhibits tumor metastasis.
Project description:Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical areas. However, its origin, diversification and dispersal remain unclear. While taro genetic diversity has been documented at the country and regional levels in Asia and the Pacific, few reports are available from Americas and Africa where it has been introduced through human migrations. We used eleven microsatellite markers to investigate the diversity and diversification of taro accessions from nineteen countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and America. The highest genetic diversity and number of private alleles were observed in Asian accessions, mainly from India. While taro has been diversified in Asia and the Pacific mostly via sexual reproduction, clonal reproduction with mutation appeared predominant in African and American countries investigated. Bayesian clustering revealed a first genetic group of diploids from the Asia-Pacific region and to a second diploid-triploid group mainly from India. Admixed cultivars between the two genetic pools were also found. In West Africa, most cultivars were found to have originated from India. Only one multi-locus lineage was assigned to the Asian pool, while cultivars in Madagascar originated from India and Indonesia. The South African cultivars shared lineages with Japan. The Caribbean Islands cultivars were found to have originated from the Pacific, while in Costa Rica they were from India or admixed between Indian and Asian groups. Taro dispersal in the different areas of Africa and America is thus discussed in the light of available records of voyages and settlements.
Project description:As an ancient clonal root and leaf crop, taro (Colocasia esculenta, Araceae) is highly polymorphic with uncertain genetic and geographic origins. We explored chloroplast DNA diversity in cultivated and wild taros, and closely related wild taxa, and found cultivated taro to be polyphyletic, with tropical and temperate clades that appear to originate in Southeast Asia sensu lato. A third clade was found exclusively in wild populations from Southeast Asia to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of taro domestication in Papua New Guinea, despite archaeological evidence for early use or cultivation there, and the presence of apparently natural wild populations in the region (Australia and Papua New Guinea).