Inside Chemical Atlas: Mapping the Hidden Chemistry of BC’s Native Plants for a Climate Smart Future
This ambitious project will establish a living lab at the UBC Botanical Garden to explore the chemical and ecological potential of native BC plants for sustainability and climate resilience. Through advanced phytochemical analysis and data science, it will generate a comprehensive, open-access metabolite database while supporting biodiversity-driven innovation in climate-adapted greenspaces, plant-derived bioproducts, and circular, regenerative solutions across research, education, and campus operations. We interviewed the project team to learn more about their work.
Interviewees:
- Jörg Bohlmann, Professor, Michael Smith Laboratories, Science
- Dee Ann Benard, Director, UBC Botanical Garden
- Adriana Lopez Villalobos, Research Technician GIS, UBC Botanical Garden
- Armando Alcazar Magaña, Analytical Project Manager & Senior Research Scientist, Proteomics & Metabolomics, Life Sciences Institute, Science
- Tara Moreau, Associate Director of Sustainability and Community Programs, UBC Botanical Garden
The team collectively shared their insights and answered our questions.
Q: How does the Chemical Atlas of Native BC Plant Species (CAN-BC) project turn the Botanical Garden into a living lab for research and innovation?
The Chemical Atlas of Native BC Plant Species (CAN-BC) project takes advantage of the unique resources of the university to connect research, teaching, and operations to advance accessibility and knowledge sharing about native BC plant species. By combining advanced and emerging technologies like high-resolution mass spectrometry and integrative data analysis with the Garden’s living plant collections, the project bridges operations and outdoor infrastructure with world-class laboratories.
The outcome of this project, an interactive, open-access database of native plant metabolites, will support interdisciplinary learning and innovation in biodiversity conservation, plant-based sustainable bioproducts, and nature-based solutions to sustainability challenges.
Q: How does your team leverage mass spectrometry, botanical data and living collections to uncover new, sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals?
Plants produce thousands of metabolites for defence and communication, and most of these compounds are still unknown. Using mass spectrometry, we can create a repository of compounds with many different potential applications, such as providing alternatives to petrochemicals. With the CAN-BC project, we will integrate the UBC Botanical Garden’s living collections with mass spectrometry analysis to explore the chemical diversity of 100-150 different native BC plants. Through this approach we plan to discover and use renewable, plant-based bioproducts that reduce dependence on fossil-fuel derived resource usage.
Q: Why is this project important for biodiversity management and climate resilience at UBC?
Managing biodiversity is critical for building climate resilience. This project will provide insights on chemo-ecological features that can be used to inform research on climate-induced biodiversity loss and promote plant diversity for sustainability.
On campus, the project has the capacity to inform the selection of BC native plant species to enrich the biodiversity of campus greenspaces and encourage innovation in sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived resources. In this way, the CAN-BC project is aligned with UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030, which outlines strategies for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus.
Q: How will students gain hands-on training in experimental design and database development through this research?
Students will gain hands-on experience in experimental design by participating in plant sample collection, data management, metabolite extraction workflows, and preparation for liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Through these activities, they will gain practical knowledge in metabolomics data analysis, including processing LC-MS datasets, matching compounds with spectral libraries, and focusing on unknown metabolites for further investigation. Students will also receive training in database development by curating, organizing, and managing metabolomics datasets linked to botanical collection records, herbarium vouchers, and biobank samples.
In collaboration with project partners, they will contribute to the co-development of an open-access interactive platform, gaining valuable experience in data visualization, database design, and the application of data standards to support accessibility and usability. The project will further provide opportunities for students to engage in cross-campus collaboration, outreach, communication, and knowledge-sharing activities focused on biodiversity.
Q: Can you explain how this metabolite database will be shared and/or scaled for industry and other institution’s applications?
We plan to develop an open-access metabolite database containing processed and annotated datasets to support comparative, targeted, and cross-disciplinary analyses. The project will create a searchable chemical atlas that integrates species botanical information, herbarium vouchers, metabolite fingerprints, and dynamic visualizations to advance sustainability research, education, and applied discovery.
Additionally, we will establish a reference metabolite library and produce summary reports identifying confidence levels, unique or under-characterized metabolites, and priority compounds for future research and industry applications. To help with easy usage, we plan to provide a preliminary and expandable dataset that will include interconnectedness diagrams, prototype interface, and visualization concepts that will support maintenance and integration in the future. Throughout the project, we will actively engage in steering committee and institutional partners to guide database development, identify user needs, and expand opportunities for research, teaching, and interdisciplinary applications.