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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1543229

Mapping and characterization of a novel powdery mildew resistance locus (PM2) in Cannabis sativa L

Provisionally accepted
Soren Seifi Soren Seifi 1Keegan M Leckie Keegan M Leckie 1Ingrid Giles Ingrid Giles 1Taylor O'brien Taylor O'brien 1John O Mackenzie John O Mackenzie 1Marco Todesco Marco Todesco 2Rieseberg Loren Rieseberg Loren 2Gregory J Baute Gregory J Baute 3Jose Celedon Jose Celedon 1*
  • 1 Aurora Cannabis Inc., Comox, Canada
  • 2 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • 3 independent Breeder, Comox, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Breeding genetic resistance to economically important crop diseases is the most sustainable strategy for disease management and enhancing agricultural and horticultural productivity, particularly where the application of synthetic pesticides is prohibited. Powdery mildew disease, caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Golovinomyces ambrosiae, is one of the most prevalent threats to the cannabis and hemp industry worldwide. In this study, we used bulk-segregant analysis combined with high-throughput RNA sequencing (BSR-Seq) to identify and map a novel single dominant resistance (R) locus (designated PM2), that strongly suppresses powdery mildew infection and sporulation in Cannabis sativa. Histochemical analysis revealed that PM2-induced resistance is mediated by a highly localized hypersensitive response mainly in the epidermal cells of the host. Importantly, genetic markers capable of tracking PM2 resistance in breeding populations were developed using associated SNPs identified in this study.

    Keywords: Cannabis sativa, powdery mildew, Disease Resistance, genetic mapping, bulk-sergeant analysis, marker assisted selection, plant breeding, sustainable agriculture Deleted: (BSA) Formatted: Centered Deleted:  Mean Resistant Bulk Font: Italic Formatted: Font: Italic Field Code Changed Ren

    Received: 11 Dec 2024; Accepted: 05 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Seifi, Leckie, Giles, O'brien, Mackenzie, Todesco, Loren, Baute and Celedon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jose Celedon, Aurora Cannabis Inc., Comox, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.