Dozens of compounds known as cannabinoids are found in cannabis, a plant that is gaining ever-increasing attention for it's wide-ranging Medicinal properties.
Cannabidiol is one of the best-known cannabinoids and is used to treat pain, inflammation, nausea and more.
Cannabinoids are produced by small spikes on the flower. Scientists don't know how cannabinoids are controlled.
Yi Ma is a research assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources.
The discovery of transcription factors responsible for cannabinoid synthesis was made by Berkowitz and Ma. If a piece of an animal's DNA will be transcribed intoRNA, it is called a transcript factor.
The cells on the flowers are caused by the transcription factors. The team's discovery was featured in a feature article. The research about trichome was published in plant direct. The potential economic impact of the gene has prompted the University of Connecticut to apply for a patent.
The researchers will continue to look at how the transcription factors play a role in flower development.
Berkowitz and Ma will make a clone of the promoter. If the promoter is activated by a signal, it will be fused to the cannabis promoter in the model plant cell. It's a good way to evaluate signals that lead to cannabinoid synthesis.
The cloned promoter will be put into a plasmid. There are plismids that can replicate on their own. The genes of interest can be expressed even though they aren't part of the plant's genetic code. The plasmids will be delivered into the leaves of the plant.
The light will come from the luciferase "reporter" when it comes into contact with the transcription factors responsible for trichome development. An instrument called a luminometer is used to measure the amount of light coming from a sample. The researchers will know if the promoter regions they are looking at are controlled by transcription factors. If the promoter responds to hormones, they can learn.
In prior work, Ma and Berkowitz along with graduate student Peter Apicella found that the generation of the precursor for the production of cannabinoids may not be the most important step in regulating the production of marijuana.
The majority of cannabis farmers grow a variety of cannabis with lower levels of marijuana's active ingredient. Most of the hemp varieties that have high levels of cannabidiol also have high levels of thc. This is most likely due to the fact that the plants still produce the cannabinoid. In many cases, the plant must be destroyed if it contains over a certain amount of cannabinoids. Thanks to a better understanding of how the plant produces the drug, scientists can use genome editing techniques to knock out an important part of the process. Plants with lower levels of the drug would be produced.
The researchers say that they envision that the fundamental knowledge obtained can be translated into novel genetic tools and strategies to improve the cannabinoid profile.
The production of cannabis plants that produce more of a desired cannabinoid could make it more valuable and profitable.
More information: Samuel R. Haiden et al, Overexpression of CsMIXTA, a Transcription Factor from Cannabis sativa, Increases Glandular Trichome Density in Tobacco Leaves, Plants (2022). DOI: 10.3390/plants11111519Delineating genetic regulation of cannabinoid biosynthesis during female flower development is a paper written by Peter V. Apicella. It's called 10.1002/pld 3.412
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