Abstract
Cannabis sativa has been cultivated since antiquity as a source of fibre, food and medicine. The recent resurgence of C. sativa as a cash crop is mainly driven by the medicinal and therapeutic properties of its resin, which contains compounds that interact with the human endocannabinoid system. Compared to other medicinal crops of similar value, however, little is known about the biology of C. sativa. Glandular trichomes are small hair-like projections made up of stalk and head tissue and are responsible for the production of the resin in C. sativa. Trichome productivity, as determined by C. sativa resin yield and composition, is only beginning to be understood at the molecular level. In this study the proteomes of glandular trichome stalks and heads, were investigated and compared to the proteome of the whole flower tissue, to help further elucidate C. sativa glandular trichome biochemistry. The data suggested that the floral tissue acts as a major source of carbon and energy to the glandular trichome head sink tissue, supplying sugars which drive secondary metabolite biosynthesis. The trichome stalk seems to play only a limited role in secondary metabolism and acts as both source and sink.
Highlights
C. sativa is an annual, predominantly dioecious [1], monotypic species of the Cannabaceae in the order Rosales [2]
Considering that major cannabinoids stored in trichome heads can account for over 15% of the C. sativa female flower dry weight [61], trichome heads constitute a considerable carbon sink
Though it cannot be ruled out that larger fan leaves contribute to source strength of C. sativa during reproductive stages, it is more likely that female flowers themselves act as the primary source for carbon
Summary
C. sativa is an annual, predominantly dioecious [1], monotypic species of the Cannabaceae in the order Rosales [2]. The use of C. sativa can be traced back for millenia through both written and genetic evidence with the earliest plant remains found in burial chambers in Yanghai, China, dated to approximately 2,500 years ago [4]. Due to the narcotic effect of some cultivars, the C. sativa plant was declared a controlled drug or prohibited substance in the first half of the 20th century in most jurisdictions and, under the United Nations single convention on narcotic drugs [8], remains highly regulated in most countries. Cultivation of C. sativa as a medicinal crop, is increasing rapidly and is driving a research renaissance in the plant science community [9].
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