Chemical Atlas of Native BC Plant Species (CAN-BC)

Project Team

Faculty Lead: Jörg Bohlmann, Professor, Michael Smith Laboratories, Faculty of Science

Staff Lead: Dee Ann Benard, Director, UBC Botanical Garden 

Co-lead: Adriana Lopez Villalobos, Research Technician GIS, UBC Botanical Garden 

Co-lead: Armando Alcazar Magaña, Analytical Project Manager & Senior Research Scientist, Proteomics & Metabolomics, Life Sciences Institute

Co-lead: Tara Moreau, Associate Director of Sustainability and Community Programs, UBC Botanical Garden 

Undergraduate Student Researchers: 

• Anushka: WLIURA Metabolomics Research Assistant 
• Alyssa: NSERC USRA Research Assistant 

CAN-BC advances biodiversity research and sustainable plant-based bioproduct innovation  

Biodiversity loss driven by climate change and the continued dependence on petrochemicals are creating growing environmental and sustainability challenges in BC and beyond. To address these problems, the Chemical Atlas of Native BC Plant Species (CAN-BC) project positions the UBC Botanical Garden as a living lab hub, supporting collaboration across research, teaching, community engagement, and operations through the development of a data platform focused on BC native plant species and their metabolites.  

By combining botanical knowledge, metabolomics, and data science, the project will uncover renewable plant-based compounds as sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals while finding chemo-ecological plant features that can strengthen biodiversity in campus green spaces. Through advanced methodologies, including liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, data analysis, and well-documented plant collections linked to herbarium vouchers, CAN-BC will generate a high-quality database and set up processes for connecting metabolomic and genomic information. 

UBC Botanical Garden as a Living Lab for climate resilience and expanded learning 

The project utilizes UBC's Botanical Garden as a living lab for climate resilience that integrates research, teaching, and campus operations.  The project will create a BC native plant metabolite and biodiversity database to support plant-based bioproduct development and biodiversity-informed greenspace management, helping reduce reliance on petrochemicals while strengthening climate resilience. It will enhance collaboration, accessibility, and biodiversity literacy through improved data curation and integration with Beaty Herbarium.  

The projected outcomes will support interdisciplinary learning, expand undergraduate research opportunities, increase campus community engagement, and position UBC as a leader in nature-based innovation and sustainable campus practices. 

Potential impacts and knowledge sharing beyond UBC  

The CAN-BC project will develop an open-access database that combines metabolomics, genomics, and biodiversity data of BC native plants, supported by scalable data infrastructure and standardized collection protocols. This resource will support biodiversity-focused research, new material innovations, as well as enable knowledge sharing across other botanical gardens, research institutions, and industry partners. Additionally, the project could support applications in commercial land reclamation and native plant nursery operations, advancing climate resilience and low-carbon innovation across BC. 

Related Publications 

_{Alcazar Magaña, A., et al. (2024). Integrating High-Resolution Mass Spectral Data, Bioassays and Computational Models to Annotate Bioactives in Botanical Extracts: Case Study Analysis of C. asiatica Extract Associates Dicaffeoylquinic Acids with Protection against Amyloid-β Toxicity. Molecules, 29(4), 838.}

_{Alcazar Magaña, A., et al. (2020). Integration of mass spectral fingerprinting analysis with precursor ion (MS1) quantification for the characterisation of botanical extracts: Application to extracts of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban. Phytochemical Analysis, 31(6), 722–738.}

_{Brockington, S. F., et al. (2026). High-performance living plant collections require a globally integrated data ecosystem to meet twenty-first-century challenges. Nature Plants, 12(1), 18–25.}

_{Cano, Á., et al. (2025). Insights from a century of data reveal global trends in ex situ living plant collections. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9(2), 214–224.}