The fever tree (Rubiaceae: Cinchona spp.) has been widely used to treat malaria
for hundreds of years due to the content of quinoline compounds that are
stored in the bark. Originally from the Andes and known by indigenous peoples
for its ameliorating effect on high recurrent fevers, the native Cinchona forests
were heavily harvested and later on plantations were established in other
tropical countries. Despite the economic and pharmaceutical importance of
the fever tree, taxonomic issues have prevented elucidation of the evolutionary
history of the Cinchona genus and the potential relation with its chemical
diversity. Furthermore, with the advent of palaeogenomics, it is now possible
to obtain, analyse and authenticate DNA from historical samples, which are
often lacking both vouchers and information about provenance.This PhD
project is using historical Cinchona barks as a model of wood museomics
aiming to provide new perspectives on the origin, application, and importance
of the fever tree. In this thesis, it is shown that quinoline alkaloids in historical
bark samples remain stable 150 years later, bringing museum specimens to
life and casting new light on the chemical diversity and selection history of
the fever tree. A first draft genome of Cinchona pubescens is presented and it
is suggested that genome skimming may provide more accurate phylogenetic
resolution than a commercial global target capture kit. Finally, it is shown how
genomic approaches can be used to trace samples of unknown provenance
back to their origin.