Delving into DNA

Now that cannabis is becoming better understood as both a medicine and recreational herb, it is more common to hear people talking about the specific genetic makeup of different varieties. But there is still a lot to learn about cannabis at the genomic level.

“What makes the sex chromosomes different from the rest of the genome, and that’s something that’s so interesting. In our ancestry they evolved 250 million years ago, but in cannabis it’s happening right now.”

This is why the Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative (CGRI) is specifically focused on sequencing the genomes of cannabis plants. The genome is the whole collection of DNA of an organism, all of its genetic makeup. The CGRI team isn’t just doing this out of scientific curiosity. Although it is certainly a worthy endeavor to understand how cannabis DNA works, especially something as widely used as cannabis, this information can also be used by cultivators to breed better strains, generate other products that will target pain and nausea or deliver specific desired effects.

“It is going to make life easier for growers and breeders, because right now people are choosing plants because they are the color purple, or they smell like lemon, but with other crops, like corn, soy and wheat, they have all these genetic tools, and we are developing them for cannabis,” explained Dr. Daniela Vergara, an evolutionary biologist and co-founder of CGRI. “So you’ll be able to tell what properties it’s going to have, like if it is going to be purple, or tall or whatever characteristics you want in our plant.”

Vergara and her team hope to be able to tell breeders which two plants to cross, which will help when it comes to seed selection and making breeding predictable.

This can be beneficial for those looking to make a profit off of certain types of cannabis, and for the discerning consumer, it will ensure that the stickiest, strongest and most specifically-bred buds are available. It also has definite applications for those wanting medical cannabis.

“The research we are doing is helping to identify why the plant is important, and further what constitutes a strain; what makes them different; what is common in all cannabis,” said Reggie Gaudino, vice president of science, genetics and intellectual property at Steep Hill Labs, a lab that partners as research collaborators with CGRI. “Can we establish a kind of ‘traveling partner’ map? By that I mean, are there certain compounds that are usually found together?”

This would provide more information about the lineage of the plants, in order to notate a broader view of what is important when it comes to treating specific conditions. In some cases, it may be that strains from specific lineages produce certain compounds, which would be a helpful thing to know.

In addition to the obvious questions about how we can grow cannabis better, stronger and more specifically-targeted cannabis, the scientists at CGRI believe that it can also help us answer questions about evolution in general, and the origin of the two sexes.

“I’m most excited about what’s in the X and Y chromosomes,” explained Dr. Nolan Kane, another researcher and founder of the project. “What makes the sex chromosomes different from the rest of the genome, and that’s something that’s so interesting. In our ancestry they evolved 250 million years ago, but in cannabis it’s happening right now.”

Kane believes that by studying the events that happened throughout natural history, and what is happening now with cannabis evolution, researchers will be able to learn about the origin of two separate sexes from one hermaphrodite ancestor. To fund their research, the group also has a nonprofit, the Agricultural Genomics Foundation. Donors can fund these important studies through the website www.agriculturalgenomics.org, allowing genomic research to continue. This is where CGRI has received most of its funding has come from.

“I am really excited about all of this research, all of the movement, and I think it’s cool that there are a lot of women involved,” Vergara said. “I think there are so many opportunities and so many tools to be developed.”

“When we started out there were some other people doing genomic research, but it was pretty limited,” Kane added. “Now there is a lot of research in the legal landscape and in general, there are quite a few different groups realizing the importance of this. We aren’t the only ones working towards this goal, and there is a small amount of friendly competition, but we are really working together to try and find these sources that we think will be useful to everybody.”

I want to remove this, and let the last paragraph be the last bit of content left for readers. Didn’t quite delete it though in case you liked this bit.