Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of the Effect of Selenium on Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa)

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Author:
Patel, Aayushi
Area of Honors:
Biology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Shobha Devi Rudrabhatla, Thesis Supervisor
Sairam V Rudrabhatla, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Industrial Hemp
Transcriptomics
Selenium
Agriculture
Environment
Human Health
Abstract:
Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) is currently valued for its medicinal properties and the market value in the United States for hemp derived cannabinoids and terpenoids is expected to be 11.3 billion dollars by 2030. This plant is known to produce over a thousand different metabolic compounds of which about 100 of them have been characterized. Hemp is currently being used for producing nutraceutical supplements (for body and mind) and in other industrial applications. Recent research is focused on increasing the effectiveness of hemp through agronomic and genetic manipulation. Selenium, a naturally occurring mineral in soil, when applied to plants in minimal amounts is known to be beneficial and regulate several biosynthetic pathways including the synthesis of secondary metabolites in a positive manner. However, when selenium is applied in higher concentrations, it could be toxic to the plants. Selenium is also a trace element known to be present in amino acids that provide antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-cancerous properties. Selenium based functional food market is likely to reach $36.5 million by 2024. Limited knowledge exists on selenium conjugated with secondary metabolites in industrial hemp. Our study is aimed at investigating the effects of selenium on hemp at the physiological and molecular level using greenhouse experiments and transcriptomics (study of gene expression at the level of RNA) respectively. Our results showed several physiological changes in the plants throughout their life cycle and displayed differential expression of genes and transcription factors that are involved in various biosynthetic pathways of hemp plants including the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Currently, we have generated a new hemp variety containing bound selenium as confirmed in the F1 generation hemp plants.

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