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Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.
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Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 45584

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Roberta Paris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria – Centro di Ricerca Cerealicoltura e Colture Industriali (CREA – CI), Via di Corticella 133, 40128 Bologna, Italy
Interests: Cannabis sativa secondary metabolism: identification and isolation of the structural and regulatory genes involved in cannabinoid, terpens, and flavonoids biosynthesis and accumulation. Valorisation of hemp waste as a source for the production of new biochemicals of pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, and manufacturing interests. In vitro culture and micropropopagation of medical Cannabis. Influence of photoperiod on flowering time and seed set in Cannabis sativa

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cannabis sativa L. is a fascinating and, at the same time, controversial plant widely cultivated for diverse uses, spanning from the production of paper and textiles to pharmaceutical applications. Moreover, it is a low input, high sustainable crop, matching with bioeconomy principles and perfectly fitting in the current scenario of the climate crisis.

The recent interest in Cannabis cultivation, for a long time a neglected plant, derives from the fact that, in addition to being a good source of both cellulosic and woody fibers, it is particularly rich in secondary metabolites, conferring a high added-value to this plant. Female inflorescences are sources of peculiar bioactive compounds, but there are also phytocomplexes in which the beneficial activities of single molecules are potentiated by a synergic effect of the blend made of cannabinoids, terpens, and flavonoids. The molecular comprehension of their biosynthesis and regulation in Cannabis will allow for manipulating their content and to develop markers for breeding. Female inflorescences also produce seeds characterized by flavors and oil composition valuable for human consumption. The increase in grain yield and seed quality are important goals for hemp breeding, and require a deeper knowledge of the basic plant and floral biology, also at the molecular level.

In recent years, a great deal of Cannabis genomic and transcriptomic data have became available, providing the hemp research community with fundamental tools to identify target genes of interest, and with databases to interrogate in the search of candidate genes for a number of traits. Despite significant progress, however, much remains unknown regarding Cannabis genetics and functional genomics, still leaving a lot of room for study in different hemp research areas. A few genes have been identified, especially those involved in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids, but a functional characterization still lags behind for most of them.

This Special Issues, titled “Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.” intends to collect papers ranging from genome-wide to target gene analyses on different hemp research topics. The identification of new genes involved in the synthesis of specialized metabolites or in the expression of other important traits for Cannabis breeding (fiber traits, flowering time, grain yield and quality, sex plasticity, disease resistance, etc.) are welcome, together with papers reporting on the development of methods for reverse genetics in Cannabis, and the characterization of functional target genes. Genome-wide bioinformatic analyses are also welcome, especially when they bring new knowledge about hemp research.

Dr. Roberta Paris
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Cannabis
  • metabolites
  • seed
  • oil
  • fibers
  • hemp
  • phytocannabinoids
  • flavonoids
  • terpens
  • flavor
  • gene function
  • genetics
  • genomics
  • transcriptomes
  • resistance genes
  • transcription factors
  • tissue culture
  • reverse genetics
  • genome assemblies
  • genomic resources
  • VIGS
  • flowering time
  • sex expression
  • genetic maps
  • bioinformatic
  • molecular biology
  • gene knockout
  • genetic transformation
  • cisgenesis
  • genetic diversity

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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10 pages, 3110 KiB  
Article
Tobacco Rattle Virus as a Tool for Rapid Reverse-Genetics Screens and Analysis of Gene Function in Cannabis sativa L.
by Hanan Alter, Reut Peer, Aviv Dombrovsky, Moshe Flaishman and Ben Spitzer-Rimon
Plants 2022, 11(3), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030327 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5024
Abstract
Medical cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is quickly becoming a central agricultural crop as its production has continued to increase globally. The recent release of the cannabis reference genomes provides key genetic information for the functional analysis of cannabis genes. Currently, however, the [...] Read more.
Medical cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is quickly becoming a central agricultural crop as its production has continued to increase globally. The recent release of the cannabis reference genomes provides key genetic information for the functional analysis of cannabis genes. Currently, however, the established tools for in vivo gene functional analysis in cannabis are very limited. In this study, we investigated the use of the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) as a possible tool for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and virus-aided gene expression (VAGE). Using leaf photobleaching as a visual marker of PHYTOENE DESATURASE (PDS) silencing, we found that VIGS was largely restricted to the agro-infiltrated leaves. However, when agro-infiltration was performed under vacuum, VIGS increased dramatically, which resulted in intense PDS silencing and an increased photobleaching phenotype. The suitability of TRV as a vector for virus-aided gene expression (VAGE) was demonstrated by an analysis of DsRed fluorescence protein. Interestingly, a DsRed signal was also observed in glandular trichomes in TRV2-DsRed-infected plants, which suggests the possibility of trichome-related gene function analysis. These results indicate that TRV, despite its limited spread, is an attractive vector for rapid reverse-genetics screens and for the analysis of gene function in cannabis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.)
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18 pages, 6183 KiB  
Article
Developing and Testing Molecular Markers in Cannabis sativa (Hemp) for Their Use in Variety and Dioecy Assessments
by Marcello Borin, Fabio Palumbo, Alessandro Vannozzi, Francesco Scariolo, Gio Batta Sacilotto, Marco Gazzola and Gianni Barcaccia
Plants 2021, 10(10), 2174; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10102174 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5592
Abstract
Cannabis sativa (2n = 2x = 20) is a popular species belonging to the Cannabaceae family. Despite its use for medical, recreational, and industrial purposes as well as its long history, the genetic research on this species is in its infancy [...] Read more.
Cannabis sativa (2n = 2x = 20) is a popular species belonging to the Cannabaceae family. Despite its use for medical, recreational, and industrial purposes as well as its long history, the genetic research on this species is in its infancy due to the legal implications and the prohibition campaigns. The recent legalization of Cannabis in many countries along with the use of genomics boosted the approaches aimed at marker-assisted selection, germplasm management, genetic discrimination, and authentication of cultivars. Nonetheless, the exploitation of molecular markers for the development of commercial varieties through marker-assisted breeding schemes is still rare. The present study aimed to develop an informative panel of simple sequence repeat markers to be used for the genotyping of high breeding value C. sativa lines. Starting from 41 nuclear SSR designated by in silico analyses, we selected 20 highly polymorphic and discriminant loci that were tested in 104 individuals belonging to 11 distinct hemp varieties. The selected markers were successful in accessing homozygosity, genetic uniformity, and genetic variation within and among varieties. Population structure analysis identified eight genetic groups, clustering individuals based on sexual behaviors (dioecious and monoecious) and geographical origins. Overall, this study provides important tools for the genetic characterization, authentication, conservation of biodiversity, genetic improvement and traceability of this increasingly important plant species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.)
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22 pages, 6117 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Sequence Variability and Transcriptional Profile of Cannabinoid synthase Genes in Cannabis sativa L. Chemotypes with a Focus on Cannabichromenic acid synthase
by Flavia Fulvio, Roberta Paris, Massimo Montanari, Cinzia Citti, Vincenzo Cilento, Laura Bassolino, Anna Moschella, Ilaria Alberti, Nicola Pecchioni, Giuseppe Cannazza and Giuseppe Mandolino
Plants 2021, 10(9), 1857; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10091857 - 8 Sep 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5015
Abstract
Cannabis sativa L. has been long cultivated for its narcotic potential due to the accumulation of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in female inflorescences, but nowadays its production for fiber, seeds, edible oil and bioactive compounds has spread throughout the world. However, some hemp varieties [...] Read more.
Cannabis sativa L. has been long cultivated for its narcotic potential due to the accumulation of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in female inflorescences, but nowadays its production for fiber, seeds, edible oil and bioactive compounds has spread throughout the world. However, some hemp varieties still accumulate traces of residual THCA close to the 0.20% limit set by European Union, despite the functional gene encoding for THCA synthase (THCAS) is lacking. Even if some hypotheses have been produced, studies are often in disagreement especially on the role of the cannabichromenic acid synthase (CBCAS). In this work a set of European Cannabis genotypes, representative of all chemotypes, were investigated from a chemical and molecular point of view. Highly specific primer pairs were developed to allow an accurate distinction of different cannabinoid synthases genes. In addition to their use as markers to detect the presence of CBCAS at genomic level, they allowed the analysis of transcriptional profiles in hemp or marijuana plants. While the high level of transcription of THCAS and cannabidiolic acid synthase (CBDAS) clearly reflects the chemical phenotype of the plants, the low but stable transcriptional level of CBCAS in all genotypes suggests that these genes are active and might contribute to the final amount of cannabinoids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.)
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Review

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28 pages, 2430 KiB  
Review
The Past, Present and Future of Cannabis sativa Tissue Culture
by Adrian S. Monthony, Serena R. Page, Mohsen Hesami and Andrew Maxwell P. Jones
Plants 2021, 10(1), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010185 - 19 Jan 2021
Cited by 82 | Viewed by 27903
Abstract
The recent legalization of Cannabis sativa L. in many regions has revealed a need for effective propagation and biotechnologies for the species. Micropropagation affords researchers and producers methods to rapidly propagate insect-/disease-/virus-free clonal plants and store germplasm and forms the basis for other [...] Read more.
The recent legalization of Cannabis sativa L. in many regions has revealed a need for effective propagation and biotechnologies for the species. Micropropagation affords researchers and producers methods to rapidly propagate insect-/disease-/virus-free clonal plants and store germplasm and forms the basis for other biotechnologies. Despite this need, research in the area is limited due to the long history of prohibitions and restrictions. Existing literature has multiple limitations: many publications use hemp as a proxy for drug-type Cannabis when it is well established that there is significant genotype specificity; studies using drug-type cultivars are predominantly optimized using a single cultivar; most protocols have not been replicated by independent groups, and some attempts demonstrate a lack of reproducibility across genotypes. Due to culture decline and other problems, the multiplication phase of micropropagation (Stage 2) has not been fully developed in many reports. This review will provide a brief background on the history and botany of Cannabis as well as a comprehensive and critical summary of Cannabis tissue culture. Special attention will be paid to current challenges faced by researchers, the limitations of existing Cannabis micropropagation studies, and recent developments and future directions of Cannabis tissue culture technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Functional Genomics in Cannabis sativa, L.)
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