The BRYOMOLECULES project has now reached its halfway point. At Lund University, Professor Nils Cronberg and PhD student Eliza Hayse are involved.
– Mosses are often overlooked because they are small and inconspicuous, but they are in fact chemical factories that produce a hidden diversity of compounds. They use these substances to survive in challenging environments – interacting with and defending against microorganisms, other plants and herbivores. We are identifying many compounds that could have potent effects when applied in new contexts, says Nils Cronberg.
Cultivation under controlled conditions
A key part of the project is to study mosses and liverworts under controlled conditions. Researchers have therefore established sterile cultures of more than 200 samples, where the plants are grown without other organisms.
This makes it possible to examine the plants’ own properties without interference from bacteria or other microorganisms.
The material has mainly been collected in Sweden, but also in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Italy.
Mapping chemical compounds
Researchers are also analysing which compounds the plants produce. By extracting and studying molecules using advanced analytical techniques, they can build a detailed picture of the plants’ chemical composition.
So far, more than 140 samples have been analysed, both from laboratory cultures and from plants collected in the wild.
– Mosses have been used by people in many traditional cultures around the world, not least for medicinal purposes such as treating wounds. This is knowledge that is rarely highlighted, but it points towards new applications as we develop methods to cultivate, extract and purify active compounds, says Eliza Hayse.
A foundation for further research
After 18 months, the project has established extensive collections and datasets on the chemistry and genetics of mosses and liverworts.
The next step is to investigate which of the identified compounds show biological activity and could be relevant for future applications.
