Research:2026-04-29/Journal article/the-structure-of-the-chemotype-determining-locus-in-cannabis-sativa

ResearchJournal article29 April 2026

The Structure of the Chemotype Determining Locus in Cannabis sativa

Keith Allen, Anthony Torres, Reginald Gaudino

Plant Direct

Uses recently released high-quality Cannabis reference genomes to resolve the B locus, the region that sets the ratio of CBDA to THCA and so the chemotype. The authors find that it functions as a supergene, with suppressed recombination allowing Mendelian-like switching between states, and that its structure varies, with differences in gene copy number and large insertions and deletions. Three previously unstudied cannabinoid oxidocyclases mainly produced CBCA, which the authors take as support for the model that the cannabinoid profile depends on the presence and expression of THCAS or CBDAS. Expression of the whole berberine bridge enzyme family was also mapped across tissues, including glandular trichomes.

Read the paper

DOI10.1002/pld3.70166

Record created 15 October 2026maintained by landrace.wiki editorspage history

2026-04-29 2026-10-15 The Structure of the Chemotype Determining Locus in Cannabis sativa Journal article Genetics Keith Allen, Anthony Torres, Reginald Gaudino Plant Direct 2026 10.1002/pld3.70166 https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.70166 Uses recently released high-quality Cannabis reference genomes to resolve the B locus, the region that sets the ratio of CBDA to THCA and so the chemotype. The authors find that it functions as a supergene, with suppressed recombination allowing Mendelian-like switching between states, and that its structure varies, with differences in gene copy number and large insertions and deletions. Three previously unstudied cannabinoid oxidocyclases mainly produced CBCA, which the authors take as support for the model that the cannabinoid profile depends on the presence and expression of THCAS or CBDAS. Expression of the whole berberine bridge enzyme family was also mapped across tissues, including glandular trichomes.