Before feminized seed became popular growers and breeders used regular seeds. Regular cannabis seeds produce 50% male and 50% female plants.
While growing these plants requires sexing to remove male flowers and prevent pollination, they preserve genetic stability for breeding and offer the potential for phenotype variation. However, they do require more work to cultivate than feminized seeds.
Breeding
In its natural state, the cannabis plant is dioecious – it produces male and female plants. Regular seeds will produce a mixture of male and female plants unless the grower intervenes to make them feminized. The grower will need to weed out the males, which can be time consuming and tedious. This will reduce the yield from their crop.
With feminized seed, there is no need to worry about weeding out male flowers. However, it is still important to sex your plants to ensure they are all female. Feminized seeds may also have a lower genetic variability than regular seeds.
Breeding regular seeds can be a great way to create your own strains. The process can be time consuming and frustrating, but it is worth it in the end. You can choose specimens with the terpenes and high that you want, and pass those traits on to future generations. Cloning is also a great option with regular seeds.
Cloning
Cloning is a natural form of reproduction used by plants, fungi, and bacteria. The process works by taking a cutting from the stem of a mature plant and using special hormones to encourage root growth. The clone then undergoes further hormone treatment, sterilization, and growing conditions to replicate the mother plant.
The resulting plant will have the exact same grow characteristics, flavor profile and overall phenotype as its mother. However, if the mother plant has any genetic flaws, these will carry over to the clone as well. For example, some parents know they have a disease or vulnerability to certain pests, but still choose to reproduce so their children don’t suffer the same fate (Glannon).
When it comes to clones, growers want them to root quickly and be ready for flowering as soon as possible. For this reason, they prefer to take a cutting from a female plant that is in its vegetative stage. While it is possible to clone a flowering plant, the process takes longer and tends to produce less sturdy clones.
Genetic Stability
Genetic stability is a critical attribute of cells that are used in the manufacture of vaccines and other biologics. Cells that are not stable over time can develop mutations that impact the function of synthetic material inserted into their DNA.
The DNA molecule that stores the genetic information of living organisms is subject to a constant stream of mutations caused by errors during cell division, accidental mutations and environmental factors such as chemical and physical stressors. Fortunately, enzymes can correct most of these anomalies to maintain genetic stability.
Research has shown that chromatin proteins work alongside DNA damage repair pathways to ensure genome stability. Scientists have identified specific genes that are involved in this process and found interconnections between these genes, suggesting the existence of a genomic stability network. Demonstration of genetic stability is part of a comprehensive safety assessment that hPSC-derived products undergo prior to receiving regulatory approvals allowing for commercialization. Regulatory authorities request stability data at the DNA, mRNA and protein level.
Phenotype Variation
Despite extensive variation for both seed size and number, genes affecting either trait have yet to be identified. The QTL mapping approach using MAGIC lines allows for fine-mapping of genetic factors responsible for the natural continuous variation in seed phenotype, unlike mutant screens that only identify single-effect alleles.
The MAGIC analysis indicated that a QTL on the bottom of chromosome 1 explains 15% of the variation for average seed weight, and another QTL explains 9% of the variation for average seed number per fruit. The QTL for seed weight resides near a gene encoding fabatin, which has been shown to be involved in starch metabolism and could explain the observed trade-off between seed size and seed number.
In the multiplex screen, 42 of the 59 marrowfat lines were scored as wrinkled seeds, and simplex PCR confirmed that these lines carried a mutation at r. Further characterization of these marrowfat lines may reveal additional genetic loci affecting seed phenotype in a pleiotropic manner.