Enhanced yield and cannabinoid production of homogenous medical marijuana plants

本提案中指出的这项研究将为迅速扩大的大麻产业提供关键知识，以提供具有一致大麻素浓度的高质量植物材料。该项目将解决三个知识缺口：1)基于遗传和代谢组学标记快速识别大麻品种，以进行质量控制；2)稳定流行大麻品种的遗传，开发种子繁殖方法；3)利用微生物信号化合物改变产量、大麻素浓度和植物抗病性。这项研究很重要，因为大麻生产商必须能够种植一致的医用植物材料，以便在将大麻素作为药用级药物开出处方时提供可靠的剂量（数量和成分）。此外，必须解决植物对白粉病的抗性问题，因为目前可获得的注册控制产品很少，导致产量和质量大幅下降；该研究项目中提出的方法也不会在供人类食用的花朵上留下化学痕迹。这项研究对1)大麻生产商、2)临床医生和3)患者很重要。大麻生产商将从减少产量损失中受益；临床医生将受益于范围更广的一致大麻产品，这些产品可在临床试验中进行评估，用于治疗各种疾病；患者将受益于更好地获得一系列高质量的基于大麻的药品。该项目的预期成果是：1)基于遗传和代谢物的快速廉价的大麻菌株鉴定系统；2)一种生产遗传相同的大麻雌性种子的方法；3)一种调节大麻素浓度和成分以及控制大麻白粉病的新策略。工业合作伙伴RavenQuest Biomed将通过改进的生产方法和一致且具有良好特征的植物遗传学受益。加拿大将受益于利用这一知识将自己定位为生产高质量医用大麻的世界领先者，并增加大麻销售的税收。* * * * * *

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. ******