Enhanced yield and cannabinoid production of homogenous medical marijuana plants

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This research indicated in this proposal will produce critical knowledge relevant for the rapidly-expanding Cannabis industry, to provide high quality plant material with consistent cannabinoid concentrations. The project will address three knowledge gaps: 1) identifying Cannabis cultivars quickly, based on genetic and metabolomics markers, for quality control purposes; 2) stabilizing genetics of popular Cannabis cultivars and developing methods for propagating these lines via seeds; 3) altering yield, cannabinoid concentration and plant disease resistance using a microbial signal compound. This research is important because Cannabis producers must be able to grow consistent plant material for medical use in order to provide reliable doses (amount and composition) of cannabinoids when it is prescribed as a pharmaceutical-grade drug. Furthermore, plant disease resistance against powdery mildew must be addressed, since currently few registered control products are available, resulting in significant yield and quality reductions; the proposed method in this research project would also not leave chemical traces on flowers that will be used for human consumption. This research is important to 1) Cannabis producers, 2) clinicians and 3) patients. Cannabis producers will benefit from reduced yield losses; clinicians will benefit from a wider range of consistent Cannabis products that can be evaluated in clinical trials for treatment of a variety of medical conditions; patients will benefit from improved access to a range of high-quality Cannabis-based pharmaceutical products. The anticipated outcomes of this project are 1) a rapid and inexpensive identification system for Cannabis strains based on genetics and metabolites, 2) a method for producing genetically identical female Cannabis seeds, and 3) a novel strategy for regulating cannabinoid concentrations and composition and powdery mildew control in Cannabis. RavenQuest Biomed, the industrial partner, will benefit through improved production methods and consistent and well characterized plant genetics. Canada will benefit by using this knowledge to position itself as a world leader in production of high-quality medical Cannabis, increased tax revenues from Cannabis sales. ******