RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Genomic and Chemical Diversity in Cannabis JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 034314 DO 10.1101/034314 A1 Ryan C. Lynch A1 Daniela Vergara A1 Silas Tittes A1 Kristin White A1 C.J. Schwartz A1 Matthew J. Gibbs A1 Travis C. Ruthenburg A1 Kymron deCesare A1 Donald P. Land A1 Nolan C. Kane YR 2015 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/12/19/034314.abstract AB Plants of the Cannabis genus are the only producers of phytocannabinoids, terpenoid compounds that strongly interact with evolutionarily ancient endocannabinoid receptors shared by most bilaterian taxa. For millennia, the plant has been cultivated for these compounds, but also for food, rope, paper, and clothing. Today, specialized varieties yielding high-quality textile fibers, nutritional seed oil or high cannabinoid content are cultivated across the globe. However, the genetic identities and histories of these diverse populations remain largely obscured. We analyzed the nuclear genomic diversity among 340 Cannabis varieties, including fiber and seed oil hemp, high cannabinoid drug-types and feral populations. These analyses demonstrate the existence of at least three major groups of diversity, with European hemp varieties more closely related to narrow leaflet drug-types (NLDT) than to broad leaflet drug-types (BLDT). The BLDT group appears to encompass less diversity than the NLDT, which reflects the larger geographic range of NLDTs, and suggests a more recent origin of domestication of the BLDTs. As well as being genetically distinct, hemp, NLDT and BLDT genetic groups each produce unique cannabinoid and terpenoid content profiles. This combined analysis of population genomic and trait variation informs our understanding of the potential uses of different genetic variants for medicine and agriculture, providing valuable insights and tools for a rapidly emerging, valuable legal industry.