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The demand for taxol, a promising cancer chemotherapeutic agent, far exceeds supply. Presently, taxol is derived from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, a small, slow-growing evergreen tree native to the northwestern United States. Knowledge of the distribution and magnitude of genetic and non-genetic sources of variation in taxol content in the genus Taxus is necessary if supply issues are to be met through plant harvesting. Analytical determinations of taxol, cephalomannine, and baccatin III in more than 200 trees representing several populations of T. brevifolia and other yew taxa indicate that (1) significant variation in taxane content exists among and within populations and species, (2) taxol levels exceeding those reported for T. brevifolia bark were found in shoots of individual trees from most taxa studied, and (3) the season in which samples are collected and handling procedures can influence taxane content.

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