Manipulating the gibberellin pathway alters harvest index and cannabinoid content in Cannabis sativa L.
Abstract
Cannabis sativa is a multi-purpose crop with a wide range of industrial and medicinal end uses. Despite its long history of cultivation, it has not received the same breeding efforts as many other crops due to regulatory barriers. In particular, it bypassed the Green Revolution, which improved harvest indices of crops via developing semi-dwarf varieties by manipulating endogenous gibberellin (GA) signalling pathways. We chemically manipulated GA signalling through the exogenous application of gibberellic acid and the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol (PBZ). We used multi-omic analysis to determine the effect of these applications on the proteome, transcriptome, and secondary metabolite accumulation to assess the potential of GA modulation for improved C. sativa end uses. PBZ treatments resulted in a semi-dwarf phenotype with an improved high harvest index (HI) and enhanced cannabinoid accumulation. Differentially expressed gene and weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed the importance of source/sink dynamics for HI, with the increased expression of sucrose synthases and sugar transporters key to the phenotypic changes induced by GA modulation. At the same time, the availability of hexanoate precursors via the degradation of long-chain fatty acids emerged as a likely constraint on cannabinoid accumulation. This study provides a basis for exploring the manipulation of GA pathways in C. sativa varieties and their relevance to cannabinoid production.
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BibTeX
@article{heer2026manipulating,
title = {{Manipulating the gibberellin pathway alters harvest index and cannabinoid content in Cannabis sativa L.}},
author = {Lennard Garcia-de Heer and Matthew Nolan and Jos Mieog and Qi Guo and Nicolas Dimopoulos and Lei Liu and Xuan Chen and Tobias Kretzschmar},
journal = {Plant and Cell Physiology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1093/pcp/pcag104},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcag104},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Manipulating the gibberellin pathway alters harvest index and cannabinoid content in Cannabis sativa L.
AU - Lennard Garcia-de Heer
AU - Matthew Nolan
AU - Jos Mieog
AU - Qi Guo
AU - Nicolas Dimopoulos
AU - Lei Liu
AU - Xuan Chen
AU - Tobias Kretzschmar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/26
JO - Plant and Cell Physiology
DO - 10.1093/pcp/pcag104
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcag104
AB - Cannabis sativa is a multi-purpose crop with a wide range of industrial and medicinal end uses. Despite its long history of cultivation, it has not received the same breeding efforts as many other crops due to regulatory barriers. In particular, it bypassed the Green Revolution, which improved harvest indices of crops via developing semi-dwarf varieties by manipulating endogenous gibberellin (GA) signalling pathways. We chemically manipulated GA signalling through the exogenous application of gibberellic acid and the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol (PBZ). We used multi-omic analysis to determine the effect of these applications on the proteome, transcriptome, and secondary metabolite accumulation to assess the potential of GA modulation for improved C. sativa end uses. PBZ treatments resulted in a semi-dwarf phenotype with an improved high harvest index (HI) and enhanced cannabinoid accumulation. Differentially expressed gene and weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed the importance of source/sink dynamics for HI, with the increased expression of sucrose synthases and sugar transporters key to the phenotypic changes induced by GA modulation. At the same time, the availability of hexanoate precursors via the degradation of long-chain fatty acids emerged as a likely constraint on cannabinoid accumulation. This study provides a basis for exploring the manipulation of GA pathways in C. sativa varieties and their relevance to cannabinoid production.
SN - 0032-0781
SN - 1471-9053
ER -