Echinacea purpurea Genome sequencing and assembly. Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (Asteraceae) is an herbaceous perennial species, native to eastern North America. E. purpurea herb medicines, on the basis of “well-established use”, showed scientific evidence of their efficacy and safety in the short-term use for common cold treatment. Sequencing of its genome is crucial to the identification of genes involved in bioactive compound synthesis aimed to the discovery of new therapeutic “green” drugs.