Source: ft.com
The valuable plant, which consists of three species and hybrids between them, is not well labelled
C
annabis is a valuable plant, as a source both of mind-bending marijuana and of hemp fibres and seeds, yet scientific knowledge of its genetics and evolutionary history has been scarce because of legal restrictions on growing it — even in the cause of science.
A study at the University of British Columbia and Dalhousie University in Canada, published in PLOS One, begins to fill this gap. The researchers compared the genomes of 81 marijuana and 43 hemp samples. Understanding cannabis genetics and evolution could assist breeding efforts for both crops, they say.
They found cannabis, which consists of three species (sativa, indica and ruderalis) and hybrids between them, is not well labelled.
“Cannabis breeders and growers often indicate the percentage of sativa or indica in a cannabis strain, but they are not very accurate,” says Jonathan Page of UBC.
Hemp, which is based on sativa, shows significant genetic separation from marijuana, as the plants have been bred for different purposes. “The genetic difference between marijuana and hemp has legal implications in many countries,” Page says. “We require a practical, accurate and more reliable classification system of this plant.”
Photograph: Alamy
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