The Regulation of Cannabinoid Accumulation

From single-digit THC percentages in the 70’s to modern varieties pushing 35% and beyond, Cannabis breeding is a rapidly developing space. Despite the incredible success of underground breeders, Cannabis development was stifled for a century. With changing legislation and the application of modern molecular techniques, new research has provided an explosion of insight into the underlying regulatory mechanisms of cannabinoid production.

This presentation provides a broad overview of the regulation of cannabinoid accumulation and the underlying physiological mechanisms that have driven the rapid increases in cannabinoid content, with a particular focus on the contribution of Australian research in the space over the past decade. While the proportion of different cannabinoids (chemotype) is a genetically static trait, the overall abundance and accumulation of the active compounds is an incredibly dynamic process influenced by diverse genetic and physiological mechanisms. Activity within the cannabinoid biosynthesis pathway and precursor availability to trichome development, sugar transport and circadian rhythms all have been shown to work in unison to create the incredibly efficient chemical factory that a Cannabis plant can be.