Using these markers, Kayagene can now reduce, by 50 per cent, the time required to incorporate the autoflower trait into their proprietary elite cannabis and hemp varieties
NRGene, a leading genomics AI company and Kayagene, a pioneer in hemp and cannabis breeding, have recently announced the completion of a milestone in their strategic research collaboration.
This ongoing collaboration was initiated over 2 years ago, beginning with genomic assembly of several of Kayagene’s cannabis and hemp breeding lines, using NRGene’s DenovoMAGIC technology. Now, the companies have successfully mapped several key genes including the auto-flowering gene, which is a highly desired trait and of great interest for the hemp and cannabis industries. NRGene estimates, that following the development of DNA markers for the auto-flowering trait, it is now possible to integrate this trait into any hemp and cannabis variety within 12 to 18 months.
Cannabis and hemp plants are typically photoperiod dependent, meaning the plants start flowering only when daylength becomes shorter and approaches 12 hours. However, cannabis and hemp plants harboring the day-neutral or “autoflower” gene, flower automatically when they are 3-4 weeks old, no matter the daylength. Thus, varieties with this trait can be grown year-round in greenhouse or fields without the necessity to manipulate daylength, which is cost-efficient for multiple flowers or seed harvests.
Trait mapping and marker-assisted breeding are vital in a competitive market because it accelerates the time to market for unique and improved varieties harboring those key traits. The use of molecular markers enables rapid and accurate selections and reduces the presence of deleterious genes introduced by traditional breeding methods.
