The Surprising Secret Weapon Against Cannabis Plant Disease: This Purple Strain Resists Hop-Latent Viroid

By Lucía Tedesco via El Planteo

A purple cannabis strain was able to resist a widespread plant disease called hop-latent viroid (HLVd). The variety in question, Jamaican Lion, proved resistant to the viroids, turning purple in the process.

A team of scientists from the company Medicinal Genomics accidentally discovered that one of their plants was partially resistant to HLVd. The information was provided by Kevin McKernan, scientific director of the institution, at a conference in Florida.

See also: Global Marijuana Viroid Outbreak Sparks Concern Among Experts

“We don’t know why [this is happening]. This could be an immune response, but we’re not seeing this [purple coloring] as heavily increased in the control that’s not infected,” said McKernan, according to High Times. Moreover, he explained that they first rubbed the viroid on the cut leaves of the plant to infect them. They then injected the viroid into a plant, and six weeks later, the plant was still uninfected. The test was repeated 57 times. Scientists can detect HLVd in root and leaf tissue, but not in the flower, which tested negative.

Why This Is Important

Viroids cause marijuana plants to produce small, low-THC flowers. A study by the Dark Heart Nursery team showed that up to 90% of California's cannabis is infected with HLVd, and that could account for up to $4 billion in losses.

It is not yet known why the Jamaican Lion could be resistant to viroids. But McKernan said it turned purple after an increase in the production of anthocyanin, a chemical that can turn plants purple.

From Medicinal Genomics they believe that they should begin to determine if there are more purple plants that are resistant to HLVd. In addition, they set out to generate resistant crops that do not experience loss of yield or potency.

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