Pubdate: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Randy Share Page: A5 UBC LAB REVEALS GENES THAT BOLSTER POT Scientists at the University of B.C. have identified about 30 genes related to the characteristic flavours of cannabis, from the nose-wrinkling funk of skunk to the distinctive earthiness of purple kush. The finding, published Wednesday in the journal Plos One, is a first step toward standardizing different varieties of B.C.'s iconic intoxicant. As Canada hurtles toward a new legal environment for recreational cannabis, breeders and growers will be anxious to identify different varieties of cannabis for flavour, but also for their psychoactive effects and potency, said Jorg Bohlmann, a professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories. The federal government pledged this week to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018. "When you have a quality product that people are willing to pay a high price for, they expect a well-defined and consistent product," said Bohlmann. Bohlmann likens the complex interaction of dozens of flavour genes to the sound of an orchestra, in which each song is a specific combination of instruments of different tone and volume. The flavours of wine and cannabis are heavily influenced by the presence of a variety of chemical compounds called terpenes produced by the plant in certain amounts, many of which are found in both wine grapes and cannabis flowers. The researchers scanned the genome of cannabis plants to identify genes known to be associated with flavour in other plants. "In the wine industry, grape varieties are highly standardized, but with cannabis it's a bit of a wild west," he said. "The plants have all sorts of names and when it comes to the cannabinoids - the psychoactive compounds - there is a scary level of variation in potency." Medicinal marijuana growers and a soon-to-be legitimized recreational marijuana industry will be interested in flavour, but even more interested in defining and standardizing the therapeutic and psychoactive chemistry of cannabis, said UBC botanist Jon Page, founder of Anandia Labs, a biotech and cannabis testing firm. "A big focus of breeding in Canada has been about increasing or modifying the levels of compounds such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol," he said. "It may be that terpenes, which affect flavour and fragrance, are also modifying the psychoactive and therapeutic properties (of marijuana)." - --- MAP posted-by: Matt