Breeding for powdery mildew resistance in medical and recreational Cannabis sativa: strategies- to improve resistance

Powdery mildew is a foliar fungal disease that attacks all Cannabis sativa varieties. The majority of license producers (LP) producers have witnessed evidence of this problem firsthand. Plant yields and ultimate profitability can be severely undermined by pathogen infections. This pathogen is challenging to deal with, and early detection of fungus and pests eliminate these crop losses and boost overall yields. The proposed research will apply novel molecular breeding approaches to obtain durable and broad spectrum resistance to Powdery mildew. The intern under the supervision of McGill Professor and Dr. M. Paris, CEO of EXKA will characterize the Susceptibility genes (S-genes) in cannabis sativa varieties and disable their functions through reverse genetics approaches leading to durable resistance. The development of Cannabis varieties with improved resistance to PM using biotechnological strategies is beneficial to EXKA as it aligns with their overarching objective of commercialization disease free varieties.

Faculty Supervisor:

Suha Jabaji

Student:

Khondoker Mohammad Golam Dastogeer

Partner:

EXKA inc

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Program: