Tag: Classification/Taxonomy

Chemotaxonomic features associated with flavonoids of cannabinoid-free cannabis (Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa L.) in relation to hops (Humulus lupulus L.)

Vanhoenacker G, Van Rompaey P, De Keukeleire D, Sandra P.

Nat Prod Lett. 2002 Feb;16(1):57-63.

DOI: 10.1080/1057563029001/4863

The major flavonoids present in the leaves and flowers of the cannabinoid-free cannabis (Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa L.) cultivars Felina and Futura are orientin (1), vitexin (2), luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide (3), and apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide (4), while prenylated flavonoids, to which the potent estrogenicity of hops (Humilus lupulus L.) is associated, are absent. The different composition of flavonoids has chemotaxonomic value.
Abstract

Metabolic fingerprinting of Cannabis sativa L. cannabinoids and terpenoids for chemotaxonomic and drug standardization purposes

Fischedick JT, Hazekamp A, Erkelens T, Choi YH, Verpoorte R (2010)

Phytochemistry 71:(17-18) 2058–2073

doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2010.10.001

Cannabis sativa L. is an important medicinal plant. In order to develop cannabis plant material as a medicinal product quality control and clear chemotaxonomic discrimination between varieties is a necessity. Therefore in this study 11 cannabis varieties were grown under the same environmental conditions. Chemical analysis of cannabis plant material used a gas chromatography flame ionization detection method that was validated for quantitative analysis of cannabis monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, and cannabinoids. Quantitative data was analyzed using principal component analysis to determine which compounds are most important in discriminating cannabis varieties. In total 36 compounds were identified and quantified in the 11 varieties. Using principal component analysis each cannabis variety could be chemically discriminated. This methodology is useful for both chemotaxonomic discrimination of cannabis varieties and quality control of plant material.
Abstract

Current and Future Needs and Applications for Cannabis

Dennis J. Gray, Hailie Baker, Kayla Clancy, Robert C. Clarke, Kymron
deCesare, John Fike, Matthew J. Gibbs, Franjo Grotenhermen, Nolan C. Kane,
Kyle G. Keepers, Donald P. Land, Ryan C. Lynch, J. Paul Mendieta, Mark
Merlin, Kirsten Müller-Vahl, Christopher S. Pauli, Brian J. Pearson, Bailey
Rhan, Travis C. Ruthenberg, C. J. Schwartz, Silas B. Tittes, Daniela Vergara, Kristin H. White & Robert N. Trigiano
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 2016
DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2017.1284529

With the resurgence of interest in cannabis, for fiber, oil, and drug uses, we now can realistically look forward to consider future needs required to establish it as a modern crop. With the anticipation of future funding opportunities, it is likely that many avenues for its further domestication will become available. Here, we have asked the experts featured in this Special Issue to provide their thoughts and recommendations. There remains some confusion in the taxonomy of the genus Cannabis. At present, we consider drug and hemp varieties to be a single species, Cannabis sativa L. with three subspecies – indica, sativa, and ruderalis. However, a different diagnosis of species contained in the genus is
discussed in some chapters, as mentioned in the definitions section of this Special Issue. This emphasizes the need to further study the relatedness among members of the genus Cannabis. Efforts outlined in the works of Lynch and colleagues (this issue) and Vergara and colleagues (this issue), with future investigations to understand the genome(s) of cannabis, will certainly elucidate these relationships.
Abstract

The Derivation of Modern Cannabis Varieties

Bailey Rahn, Brian J. Pearson, Robert N. Trigiano & Dennis J. Gray
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 
DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2016.1273626

Considering the ancient importance of cannabis and the current trend toward its deregulation worldwide, it is imperative to develop best management practices to legitimize the crop. The genetic backgrounds of commercially-sold varieties must be determined in order to standardize the products produced from them and to efficiently improve them for future needs. Currently the genetic backgrounds of most cannabis varieties are unknown or suspect. It is possible that some are merely clones of other varieties. By utilizing modern tools of genetic analyses, the identities of all or most existing varieties, as well as their parentages, will be determined. As with all major crops, understanding varietal identity is a crucial step required to modernize the cannabis industry. This article describes and explores the derivation of 601 modern varieties in order to provide a fundamental point of reference for scientists to study cannabis genetics in the future.
Abstract

Evolution and Classification of Cannabis sativa (Marijuana, Hemp) in Relation to Human Utilization

Ernest Small
The Botanical Review (2015) 81:189–294 
DOI:10.1007/s12229-015-9157-3

Cannabis sativa has been employed for thousands of years, primarily as a source of a stem fiber (both the plant and the fiber termed “hemp”) and a resinous intoxicant (the plant and its drug preparations commonly termed “marijuana”). Studies of relationships among various groups of domesticated forms of the species and wild-growing plants have led to conflicting evolutionary interpretations and different classifications, including splitting C. sativa into several alleged species. This review examines the evolving ways Cannabis has been used from ancient times to the present, and how human selection has altered the morphology, chemistry, distribution and ecology of domesticated forms by comparison with related wild plants. Special attention is given to classification, since this has been extremely contentious, and is a key to understanding, exploiting and controlling the plant. Differences that have been used to recognize cultivated groups within Cannabis are the results of disruptive selection for characteristics selected by humans. Wild-growing plants, insofar as has been determined, are either escapes from domesticated forms or the results of thousands of years of widespread genetic exchange with domesticatedplants, making it impossible to determine if unaltered primeval or ancestral populations still exist. The conflicting approaches to classifying and naming plants with such interacting domesticated and wild forms are examined. It is recommended that Cannabis sativa be recognized as a single species, within which there is a narcotic subspecies with both domesticated and ruderal varieties, and similarly a non-narcotic subspecies with both domesticated and ruderal varieties. An alternative approach consistent with the international code of nomenclature for cultivated plants is proposed, recognizing six groups: two composed of essentially non-narcotic fiber and oilseed cultivars as well as an additional group composed of their hybrids; and two composed of narcotic strains as well as an additional group composed of their hybrids.
Abstract

Cannabis Domestication, Breeding History, Present-day Genetic Diversity, and Future Prospects*

Robert C. Clarke & Mark D. Merlin
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences Pages 1-35. 2017
Doi: 10.1080/07352689.2016.1267498

Humans and the Cannabis plant share an intimate history spanning millennia. Humans spread Cannabis from its Eurasian homelands throughout much of the world, and, in concert with local climatic and human cultural parameters, created traditional landrace varieties (cultivars resulting from a combination of natural and farmer selection) with few apparent signs of domestication. Cannabis breeders combined populations from widely divergent geographical regions and gene pools to develop economically valuable fiber, seed, and drug cultivars, and several approaches were used with varying results. The widespread use of single plant selections in cultivar breeding, inbreeding, and the adoption of asexual reproduction for commercial drug production, reduced genetic diversity and made many present-day cultivars susceptible to pathogens and pests. The great majority of drug Cannabis cultivars are now completely domesticated, and thus are entirely dependent on humans for their survival. Future ramifications remain to be realized.
Abstract