SCIENCE GLOSSARY
DOCUMENT LINKS
LinkedIn Acknowledgment
Article Magazine
Published Article Refereed Journal
THE CANNABIS PLANT
- Cannabis is an annual plant that can be grown under both indoor and outdoor conditions.
- Under outdoor conditions, the life cycle of plant is completed within 5–7 months depending on environmental conditions and the strain/variety. design watches replica patek philippe box
- With indoor growing, flowering and maturation can some extent be controlled by photoperiod imposed.
- Cannabis is normally a dioecious species (i.e., unisexual male and female flowers [imperfect flowers] develop on separate plants). Sex is determined by heteromorphic chromosomes, with males being heterogametic (XY) and females homogametic (XX). discount watches rolex real fake in world
- Typically, only the unfertilized flower heads (these inflorescences are commonly referred to as the bud) of female plants are used for marihuana production, even though it is possible to morphologically distinguish between male and female plants only after the onset of flowering. gold belly bars fake omega spectre online
- Propagation through seed is the simplest and most conventional method of cultivating cannabis and seeds are an excellent source for accessing genetic diversity use asexual propagation methods (cuttings and micropropgation) is typically used to maintain true-to-type clones. good watches best omega replica watch
IMPORTANCE OF STARTING MATERIALS
- The potential benefit of all cannabis derived products is dictated by the genetic composition of the starting materials in conjunction with the environmental conditions experienced by cannabis during is maturation process. hot sale breguet swiss replica watches
- Consistency and reliability of cannabis chemistry is established through growing practices; however, it is grounded in the fundamental stability of the underlying genetics of the plants being grown.
- Key factors such as: stability of complex chemical profiles; ability to respond and resist infestation and diseases; connectivity to primary source genetics to recover or reintroduce strains and characteristics into a population; and, efficiency and effectiveness of continued clonal propagation from continuous cuttings, clonal seeds and/or tissue culture all depend on genetics. huge discounts replica breitling navitimer omega
- Cannabis breeding strategies and enable better access to genetically and phenotypically diverse starting cannabis materials which will enhance our ability to identify and select a broad range of crop traits, including cannabinoid and terpene composition and concentration, disease resistance, plant architecture and nutrient use efficacy.
CANNABIS AS A BIOREACTOR
- Standard product formulation practice of combining isolated component parts to build the final product chemistry may not hold for cannabis products given the limited understanding regarding mode of action of many of the complimentary components. (The benefits of the minor components of cannabis that can be lost through formulating individual components which may limit the potential outcome expectations of the product – “entourage effect”.)
- Identification or generation of genetic strains that can produce a chemistry that more closely approximates the necessary cannabinoid, terpene and flavonoid composition for the final product reduces the need to employ more sophisticated extraction, purification and formulation strategies in downstream processing and has the potential to enable possible “entourage effects”.
- The deliberate selection of strains (cultivars); guided by several considerations relative to both the plant and the potential product formulation, for breeding new varieties to target a specific composition positions the cannabis plant as more of a bioreactor than simply a source or starting materials.
- A key consideration for this approach is understanding the chemistry requirements for the different products being developed to meet the specific need.
BREEDING TARGETED OUTCOMES
The methods commonly used in breeding or developing seed from open-pollinated (or cross-pollinated) plants such as cannabis include mass selection, selection with progeny testing, and inbreeding.
- Mass selection (population or family breeding) involves the selection of seed after harvest or simply from plants with the best phenotype or performance. This results in more genetically uniform breeding material, cultivars and ecotypes.
- Selection with progeny testing involves dedicated crosses to breed for improved characteristics such as cannabinoid content, bud yield, gender, phenological development, resistance to pathogens and suitability for different cultivation regions.
- Inbreeding and production of feminized seed begins with induction of plants with male flowers on the female plant thereby converting a dioecious female plant to a monoecious plant (i.e., female plant has unisexual flowers of both sexes). The generation of monoecious (female plants with induced male flowers) cannabis plants enables self-fertilization and the production of feminized seed.
Hybrid seed production is enabled by the availability of monoecious plants capable of self-fertilization and inbreeding.
- Typically, two selected parents with superior traits are selfed in isolation for two or more successive generations to fix the trait under consideration and create inbred lines.
- Trait analysis is conducted and individual plants from this generation with desirable traits are chosen to produce first generation hybrid lines.
- The progeny of first-generation seeds will all be female and homozygous (e.g., possess the same trait), thereby offering many advantages over the use of feminized seed.
- There is a potential for “inbreeding depression”, but to some extent this can be overcome by making triple crosses and crossing parents with different genetic backgrounds, resulting in “hybrid vigor”.
MMGenetics as a group possessing the ability to support the selection and breeding efforts required to enable the cannabis bioreactor concept.
- sophisticated breeding program focused on crossing hemp and non-hemp cannabis strains – build targeted chemistry profile in robust plant systems defined by hardiness, adaptability, production capability, and
maximization of target chemistry·
- progressive backcrossing genetic stability of key traits and diversity – create desired outcome – maintain diversity allowing plants to respond to minor environmental changes during growing and production without catastrophic outcomes such as complete crop lost due to fungal infestation.
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF GENETICS
Factors key to assessing the appropriateness of genetic strains relative to the strategic direction of operation of the business include:
- market expectations
- product requirements
- outcome effect/efficacy requirements
- continuation of supply
- stability of characteristics
- access to import or create starting materials
- cost of production/processing
- cost of goods
BUSINESS SOUNDBITES
- Starting materials create the “opportunity” for all value derived from the cannabis plant. Without a strong and stable genetic makeup for a given plant strain the ability to create the best product characteristics (e.g. chemistry composition, physical properties, etc.) is limited.
- Incorporation of predictable and reliable genetic starting materials into the production process will maximize the opportunity to create “value growth”. The ability to realize the “value growth” imparted by genetic “opportunity” is dependent on the cultivation and production practices applied.
- A critical aspect of developing quality products and elucidating the value that cannabis can bring to consumers and patients is the genetic starting material. The chemical composition of cannabis influences taste, performance, and processing costs, whereas the growth requirements influence cycle time, cost of plant maintenance and environmental control. Without a strong and stable genetic makeup for a given plant strain the ability to create the best product characteristics is limited.
- Although genetic materials are not patentable, the control of the intellectual value of these materials comes in the form of controlled sourcing/distribution, trademark (branding) development, the potential to register the genetics to better control value, access and use, and the incorporation into a product/therapeutic for utility intellectual property application.
DEFINITIONS
CUTTING | Branches of vegetative material removed from select female plants cut into segments (6-10 cm long) that contain at least two nodal segments and planted into soil, a liquid culture medium or used in invitro micropropagation.
ALLELE | Any of several forms of a gene, usually arising from mutation. Responsible for hereditary variation.
CHEMOTYPE | A chemically distinct entity, with differences in the composition of secondary metabolites. Often defined by the most abundant chemical produced by that individual.
CULTIVAR | Abbreviation for “cultivated variety”. Most commercial plants are cultivars. Can be hybrids, propagated by seed or by clone, and true-breeding or not; created and maintained by people. Most proper term for cultivated cannabis types. “Cultivars” are often referred to as “varieties”, although there are formal rules naming a cultivar.
GENES | Basic physical unit of heredity: a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.
GENOTYPE | Set of genes and corresponding alleles (i.e., the “genetics”) in the plant.
GERMPLASM | Living tissues (i.e., seed or another plant part) from which new plants can be grown. Contains the information for the genetic makeup of a species and is a valuable natural resource of plant diversity.
HYBRIDIZATION | Interbreeding between individuals of different species (interspecific hybridization) or genetically divergent individuals (varieties/cultivars or inbred lines) from the same species (intraspecific hybridization). Generally, involves intentional breeding by humans, but can also occur naturally. Hybrid offspring may be fertile, partially fertile, or sterile.
LANDRACE | A term frequently used in the cannabis community. Formally, a landrace is a cultivar (or variety) that has a specific geographical/historical origin where it developed (and to which it is presumably adapted). Landraces frequently contain significant genetic variation and have not been subjected to formal improvement processes. They are valued for their ability to contribute specific traits to a breeding program (e.g., disease resistance), but are often too variable and unproductive for most cultivation purposes.
PHENOTYPE | Physical manifestation of an individual plant, as influenced by both genotype and environment.
PLANT BREEDING | Science of improving the genetic potential of plants to produce desired characteristics. Accomplished through combining the favorable characteristics of parents by hybridization, generating a diverse population, and selecting the best plants.
SPECIES | Cannabis plants belong to the scientific genus Cannabis. Some scientists believe there are distinct species of Cannabis (indica, sativa, ruderalis), whereas others believe there is only one species (sativa) with sub-types (subspecies or varieties). They can all interbreed.
STRAIN | This word has been used somewhat interchangeably with ‘variety’, ‘breed’, ‘selection’ or ‘race’ to indicate a low-level sub-type; however, it is not a “botanical” term and with the exception of Cannabis, is not encountered in the plant world. Today, “strain” tends to refer to minor morphological differences and grower branding rather than distinct cultivars.
VARIETY | Botanically speaking, a ‘variety’ is a sub-type of a species which has developed in nature and breeds true for its unique character. Often considered interchangeable with ‘cultivar’, but the botanical meaning of each term is quite specific.