''Coptis quinquesecta'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of goldthread native to Jinping County,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

, China and locally in northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. China has it as a national key thread species in order to conserve it. It has 79 protein coding genes, 30

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

transferring genes, as well as four

ribosomal Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...

RNA genes adding up to a total of 113

genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

. ''Coptis quinquesecta'' is used as a medicinal herb - it contains

berberine Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids found in such plants as '' Berberis vulgaris'' (barberry), '' Berberis aristata'' (tree turmeric), ''Mahonia aquifolium'' (Oregon grape), '' H ...

and

coptisine Coptisine is an alkaloid found in Chinese goldthread ('' Coptis chinensis''), greater celandine, and opium. Famous for the bitter taste that it produces, it is used in Chinese herbal medicine along with the related compound berberine Berberin ...

, which are used to treat bacterial infections, the effects of diabetes, and high blood pressure.

References

quinquesecta {{Ranunculales-stub