A Genetic deep dive into one of the oldest crops - Marijuana

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A Genetic deep dive into one of the oldest crops - Marijuana

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https://www.inverse.com/science/scienti ... -marijuana
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I didnt start at the beginning...

How they did it — The researchers studied 110 genomes of Cannabis sativa using molecular analysis and “next-generation DNA sequencing” according to Fumagalli.

From their DNA analysis, the researchers build phylogenetic trees that show the relationships between and evolution of four genetically distinct groups of cannabis.

Basal cannabis — This group is “sister to all other cannabis” categories, including all human-grown or “cultivated” hemp and psychoactive cannabis in the world. It includes wild plants and traditional cannabis hybrids, known as “landraces,” found in modern China.
Hemp — This group includes all hemp varieties found around the world. Hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa that is distinguished from other cannabis strains by its lower levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the psychoactive ingredient that makes cannabis such a potent drug. Hemp, unlike its psychoactive counterpart, is not typically considered a drug and was traditionally used to make fiber for clothing and other materials.
The first group of “drug” cannabis — This group includes wild strains of cannabis with drug-like properties similar to marijuana from China, India, and Pakistan, as well as one cultivated cannabis variety from India.
The second group of “drug” cannabis — This group includes varieties of cannabis with drug-like properties that have been cultivated around the world.

This crucial basal cannabis group hadn’t been detected in previous research — a fact that Fumagalli found “very surprising.”

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The researchers state: “As such, the results call into question, from both a biological and functional point of view, the current binary categorization of Cannabis plants as ‘hemp’ or ‘marijuana.’”

So, in order to resolve the present-day cannabis debate, perhaps we need to look to an unexpected place: its evolutionary past.


Abstract: Cannabis sativa has long been an important source of fiber extracted from hemp and both medicinal and recreational drugs based on cannabinoid compounds. Here, we investigated its poorly known domestication history using whole-genome resequencing of 110 accessions from worldwide origins. We show that C. sativa was first domesticated in early Neolithic times in East Asia and that all current hemp and drug cultivars diverged from an ancestral gene pool currently represented by feral plants and landraces in China. We identified candidate genes associated with traits differentiating hemp and drug cultivars, including branching pattern and cellulose/lignin biosynthesis. We also found evidence for loss of function of genes involved in the synthesis of the two major biochemically competing cannabinoids during selection for increased fiber production or psychoactive properties. Our results provide a unique global view of the domestication of C. sativa and offer valuable genomic resources for ongoing functional and molecular breeding research.

And for general principles: Leah holding her best one from our Toni Mine in Virgin Valley.
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yes it has color:
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I'll jump over my shadow. https://www.virginvalleyopal.com"
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