Potential impacts of soil microbiota manipulation on secondary metabolites production in cannabis

Abstract

Background Cannabis growing practices and particularly indoor cultivation conditions have a great influence on the production of cannabinoids. Plant-associated microbes may affect nutrient acquisition by the plant. However, beneficial microbes influencing cannabinoid biosynthesis remain largely unexplored and unexploited in cannabis production. Objective To summarize study outcomes on bacterial and fungal communities associated with cannabis using high-throughput sequencing technologies and to uncover microbial interactions, species diversity, and microbial network connections that potentially influence secondary metabolite production in cannabis. Materials and method A mini review was conducted including recent publications on cannabis and their associated microbiota and secondary metabolite production. Results In this review, we provide an overview of the potential role of the soil microbiome in production of cannabinoids, and discussed that manipulation of cannabis-associated microbiome obtained through soil amendment interventions of diversified microbial communities sourced from natural forest soil could potentially help producers of cannabis to improve yields of cannabinoids and enhance the balance of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) proportions. Conclusion Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated crops in history, grown for food, fiber, and drugs for thousands of years. Extension of genetic variation in cannabis has developed into wide-ranging varieties with various complementary phenotypes and secondary metabolites. For medical or pharmaceutical purposes, the ratio of CBD to THC is key. Therefore, studying soil microbiota associated with cannabis and its potential impact on secondary metabolites production could be useful when selecting microorganisms as bioinoculant agents for enhanced organic cannabinoid production.

Enhancement of growth and Cannabinoids content of hemp (Cannabis sativa) using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

“… Zielonka et al (2021) reported as most common AMF species associated with industrial hemp various species of the genus Funneliformis , such as F. mosseae , F. caledonium and F. geosporum . Due to its forbidden nature of cannabis in the past, scientific knowledge on microbial diversity in cannabis cultivation, and especially that of variants for recreational or medicinal purposes, is limited ( Ahmed and Hijri, 2021 ). To the best of our knowledge our study is the first to demonstrate effects of the mycorrhizal symbiosis on the production of cannabinoids.…”

“…They also improve plant tolerance to a variety of stresses including salinity, herbivory, plant diseases, and heavy-metal pollution ( Ahanger et al, 2014 ; Salam et al, 2017 ). Due to these beneficial features, AMF are a good candidate for acquiring more nutrients and water for plants under conditions where those resources are limited, and hence likely increase plant biomass and the production of these cannabinoids ( Ahmed and Hijri, 2021 ). Beneficial effects of AMF on performance of C. sativa were reported by Citterio et al (2005 ; enhanced performance in heavy-metal polluted soil) and Kakabouki et al (2021a ; biomass and nitrogen and phosphorus content).…”

Phytate and Microbial Suspension Amendments Increased Soybean Growth and Shifted Microbial Community Structure

“…Microbial suspension (or microbial inoculum) was prepared from soil collected from the Gault Nature Reserve at Mont Saint-Hilaire. Undisturbed and old maple forests are well known as a potential source of beneficial microbes for crop plants [ 24 ]. Soil samples were taken in four distinct locations, pooled, and homogenized to form a composite sample which was then transported to the lab.…”

Microbiome of Field Grown Hemp Reveals Potential Microbial Interactions With Root and Rhizosphere Soil

“…Root-associated microbes have been shown to improve the systematically induced root exudation of metabolites process and affect root transcriptome and metabolome ( Korenblum et al, 2020 ). Manipulation of plant microbiota thus trigger host biosynthetic and signaling pathways ( Berg et al, 2016 ; Pascale et al, 2019 ) and brings up opportunities for plant fitness, improved nutrient usage efficiency, and higher crop yields while limiting chemical fertilizers and greenhouse gas emissions in a sustainable manner ( Adesemoye et al, 2009 ; Berg, 2009 ; Singh and Trivedi, 2017 ; Ahmed and Hijri, 2021 ).…”

“…Given their potential for positively influencing agricultural productivity, understanding the role of these microbes could enhance our ability to exploit activities that promote efficient soil nutrient use to increase crop yield and quality, while reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture. Given the extraordinary number of microbes that exist in soil and their functional diversity, they could not be examined in depth prior to recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatics ( Ahmed and Hijri, 2021 ), that allow to generate a huge amount of sequencing data whose analyses provide an exhaustive taxonomic profile, relative abundance as well as predition of functions. In this study, we used MiSeq amplicon sequencing targeting ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of bacterial 16S and fungal ITS to uncover diversity of roots and rhizosphere soils associated with hemp grown in six different fields located in New York State (United States).…”