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DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-125087
Current Perspectives on Biotechnological Cannabinoid Production in Plants
Publication History
received 28 September 2017
revised 27 November 2017
accepted 08 December 2017
Publication Date:
04 January 2018 (online)
![](https://www.thieme-connect.de/media/plantamedica/201804/lookinside/thumbnails/10-1055-s-0043-125087_pmb0874-1.jpg)
Abstract
The plant Cannabis sativa contains a number of psychoactive chemical compounds, the cannabinoids, which possess a significant pharmaceutical potential. Recently, the usage of Cannabis for medicinal purposes was legalized in many countries. Thus, the study on the influence of different cannabinoids in combination with other Cannabis-derived compounds with respect to the treatment of various diseases becomes increasingly important. Besides the production of distinct cannabinoids in a heterologous host, like tobacco or yeast, transgenic Cannabis plants would be a suitable alternative to modify and therefore optimize the cannabinoid profile. This perspective highlights the current efforts on Cannabis cell culture systems, in vitro propagation, and transformation of the plant and reveals the resulting opportunities concerning biotechnological production of cannabinoids. Furthermore, alternative platform organisms for the heterologous production of cannabinoids, like tobacco, are considered and evaluated.
Key words
Cannabis sativa - Cannabaceae - synthetic biology - metabolic engineering - biotechnology - cell culture - tobaccoSupporting Information
- Supporting Information
A detailed description of the used transformation method is given in the supporting information.
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