Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Genetic evidence for speciation in Cannabis (Cannabaceae)

  • Published:
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sample populations of 157 Cannabis accessions of diverse geographic origin were surveyed for allozyme variation at 17 gene loci. The frequencies of 52 alleles were subjected to principal components analysis. A scatter plot revealed two major groups of accessions. The sativa gene pool includes fiber/seed landraces from Europe, Asia Minor, and Central Asia, and ruderal populations from Eastern Europe. The indica gene pool includes fiber/seed landraces from eastern Asia, narrow-leafleted drug strains from southern Asia, Africa, and Latin America, wide-leafleted drug strains from Afghanistan and Pakistan, and feral populations from India and Nepal. A third putative gene pool includes ruderal populations from Central Asia. None of the previous taxonomic concepts that were tested adequately circumscribe the sativa and indica gene pools. A polytypic concept of Cannabis is proposed, which recognizes three species, C. sativa, C. indica and C. ruderalis, and seven putative taxa.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

PCA:

– principal components analysis

References

  • L.C. Anderson (1974) ArticleTitleA study of systematic wood anatomy in Cannabis Harvard Univ. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 24 29–36

    Google Scholar 

  • L.C. Anderson (1980) ArticleTitleLeaf variation among Cannabis species from a controlled garden Harvard Univ. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 28 61–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (1989) The Seed Bank Catalogue. Ooy, The Netherlands. [authorship attributed to N. Schoenmakers.]

  • I. Bócsa (1999) Genetic improvement: conventional approaches P. Ranalli (Eds) Advances in Hemp Research Haworth Press Binghamton NY 153–184

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Bócsa M. Karus (1998) The Cultivation of Hemp Hemptech Sebastopol, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Bredemann Fr. Schwanitz R. Sengbusch Particlevon (1956) ArticleTitleProblems of modern hemp breeding, with particular reference to the breeding of varieties with little or no hashish Bull. Narc. 8 31–35

    Google Scholar 

  • de Candolle A. 1885. Hemp – Cannabis sativa L. In: Origin of Cultivated Plants, D. Appleton, New York, pp. 148–149

  • L. Cherniak (1982) The Great Books of Cannabis, vol. I, Book II Cherniak/Damele Publishing Oakland, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • I.C. Chopra R.N. Chopra (1957) ArticleTitleThe use of Cannabis drugs in India Bull. Narc. 9 4–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke R.C. 1995. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation in the Tai’an district of Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China. J. Int. Hemp Assoc. 2: 57, 60–65

    Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Crawford (1989) Enzyme electrophoresis and plant systematics D.E. Soltis P.S. Soltis (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Biology Dioscorides Press Portland OR 146–164

    Google Scholar 

  • G.G. Davidyan (1972) ArticleTitleHemp: biology and initial material for breeding Tr. Prikl. Bot. Genet. Sel. 48 1–160

    Google Scholar 

  • R.-A. Delile (1849) ArticleTitleIndex seminum horti botanici Monspeliensis Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Biol. Veg. 12 365–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey L.H. 1914. Hemp. In: USDA Yearbook 1913. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, pp. 283–347

  • J. Doebley (1989) Isozymic evidence and the evolution of crop plants D.E. Soltis P.S. Soltis (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Biology Dioscorides Press Portland, OR 165–191

    Google Scholar 

  • B.M. Du Toit (1980) Cannabis in Africa A.A. Balkema Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • W.A. Emboden (1974) ArticleTitleCannabis – a polytypic genus Econ. Bot. 28 304–310

    Google Scholar 

  • W.A. Emboden (1981) ArticleTitleThe genus Cannabis and the correct use of taxonomic categories J. Psychoactive Drugs 13 15–21

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Faeti G. Mandolino P. Ranalli (1996) ArticleTitleGenetic diversity of Cannabis sativa germplasm based on RAPD markers Plant Breed. 115 367–370

    Google Scholar 

  • M.P. Fleming R.C. Clarke (1998) ArticleTitlePhysical evidence for the antiquity of Cannabis sativa L. J. Int. Hemp Assoc. 5 80–93

    Google Scholar 

  • J.L. Hamrick (1989) Isozymes and the analysis of genetic structure in plant populations D.E. Soltis P.S. Soltis (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Biology Dioscorides Press Portland, OR 87–105

    Google Scholar 

  • K.W. Hillig A.F. Iezzoni (1988) ArticleTitleMultivariate analysis of a sour cherry germplasm collection J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 113 928–934

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Jagadish J. Robertson A. Gibbs (1996) ArticleTitleRAPD analysis distinguishes Cannabis sativa samples from different sources Forensic Sci. Int. 79 113–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Janischevsky D.E. 1924. Forma konopli na sornykh mestakh v Yugo-vostochnoi Rossii. In: Chiuevsky I.A. (ed.), Uchen. Zap. Gosud. Saratovsk. Chernyshevskogo Univ., 2(2): 3–17, Saratov University Press, Saratov, USSR

  • S.R. Kephart (1990) ArticleTitleStarch gel electrophoresis of plant isozymes: a comparative analysis of techniques Am. J. Bot. 77 316–368

    Google Scholar 

  • de Lamarck J.B. 1785. Encyclopédique Méthodique de Botanique, vol. 1, Pt. 2. Paris, France, pp. 694–695

  • C. Lawi-Berger M.N. Miége I. Kapétanidis J. Miége (1982) ArticleTitleContribution a l’etude chimiotaxonomique de Cannabis sativa L CR Acad. Sci. Paris 295 397–402

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Lemeshev L. Rumyantseva R.C. Clarke (1994) ArticleTitleMaintenance of Cannabis germplasm in the Vavilov Research Institute gene bank – 1993 J. Int. Hemp Assoc. 1 IssueID1 3–5

    Google Scholar 

  • H.-L. Li (1974) ArticleTitleAn archaeological and historical account of Cannabis in China Econ. Bot. 28 437–448

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Mandolino P. Ranalli (2002) ArticleTitleThe applications of molecular markers in genetics and breeding of hemp J. Indust. Hemp. 7 7–23

    Google Scholar 

  • E.P.M. Meijer Particlede (1994) Diversity in Cannabis Wageningen Agricultural University Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • E.P.M. Meijer Particlede (1995) ArticleTitleFibre hemp cultivars: a survey of origin, ancestry, availability and brief agronomic characteristics J. Int. Hemp Assoc. 2 66–73

    Google Scholar 

  • E.P.M. Meijer Particlede (1999) Cannabis germplasm resources P. Ranalli (Eds) Advances in Hemp Research Haworth Press Binghamton, NY 133–151

    Google Scholar 

  • E.P.M. Meijer Particlede L.C.P. Keizer (1996) ArticleTitlePatterns of diversity in Cannabis Genet. Resour. Crop Evol. 43 41–52

    Google Scholar 

  • E.P.M. Meijer Particlede L.J.M. Soest Particlevan (1992) ArticleTitleThe CPRO Cannabis germplasm collection Euphytica 62 201–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Migal N.D. 1991. Genetics of polymorphic sex evolution in hemp. Genetika 27: 1561–1569. (Translated in Soviet Genetics, March 1992: 1095–1102)

    Google Scholar 

  • Morden C.W., Doebley J. and Schertz K.F. 1987. A Manual of Techniques for Starch Gel Electrophoresis of Sorghum Isozymes. Texas Agric. Exp. Sta. Misc. Publ. 1635, College Station, TX

  • M. Nei (1987) Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Columbia University Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Pickersgill (1988) ArticleTitleThe genus Capsicum: A multidisciplinary approach to the taxonomy of cultivated and wild plants Biol. Zentralbl. 107 381–389

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameSAS Institute (2002) JMP Statistics and Graphics Guide SAS Institute Cary, NC

    Google Scholar 

  • R.E. Schultes (1970) Random thoughts and queries on the botany of Cannabis C.R.B. Joyce S.H. Curry (Eds) The Botany and Chemistry of Cannabis J. and A. Churchill London 11–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultes R.E. 1973. Man and marijuana. Nat. Hist. 82: 58–63, 80, 82

  • R.E. Schultes W.M. Klein T. Plowman T.E. Lockwood (1974) ArticleTitleCannabis: an example of taxonomic neglect Harvard Univ. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 23 337–367

    Google Scholar 

  • T.Ya. Serebriakova I.A. Sizov (1940) Cannabinaceae Lindl N.I. Vavilov (Eds) Kulturnaja Flora SSSR, vol. 5. Moscow-Leningrad USSR 1–53

    Google Scholar 

  • C.R. Shields T.J. Orton C.W. Stuber (1983) An outline of general resource needs and procedures for the electrophoretic separation of active enzymes from plant tissue S.D. Tanksley T.J. Orton (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Genetics and Breeding. Part A Elsevier Science Publishers Amsterdam 443–516

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Siniscalco Gigliano (2001) ArticleTitleCannabis sativa L. – Botanical problems and molecular approaches in forensic investigations Forensic Sci. Rev. 13 2–17

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Small (1979) The Species Problem in Cannabis, vol. 1 Corpus Information Services Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Small H.D. Beckstead (1973) ArticleTitleCommon cannabinoid phenotypes in 350 stocks of Cannabis Lloydia 36 144–165

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Small A. Cronquist (1976) ArticleTitleA practical and natural taxonomy for Cannabis Taxon 25 405–435

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Small P.Y. Jui L.P. Lefkovitch (1976) ArticleTitleA numerical taxonomic analysis of Cannabis with special reference to species delimitation Syst. Bot. 1 67–84

    Google Scholar 

  • D.E. Soltis C.H. Haufler D.C. Darrow G.J. Gastony (1983) ArticleTitleStarch gel electrophoresis of ferns: A compilation of grinding buffers, gel and electrode buffers, and staining schedules Am. Fern J. 73 9–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Vavilov N.I. 1926. The origin of the cultivation of ‘primary’ crops, in particular cultivated hemp. In: Studies on the Origin of Cultivated Plants, Institute of Applied Botany and Plant Breeding, Leningrad, USSR, pp. 221–233

  • Vavilov N.I. and Bukinich D.D. 1929. Konopli. Zemledel’cheskii Afghanistan. Tr. Prikl. Bot. Genet. Sel. 33(Suppl.): 380–382, 474, 480, 584–585, 604 Reissued in 1959 by Izdatel’stuo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moskva- Leningrad

  • N.F. Weeden J.F. Wendel (1989) Genetics of plant isozymes D.E. Soltis P.S. Soltis (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Biology Dioscorides Press Portland, OR 46–72

    Google Scholar 

  • J.F. Wendel N.F. Weeden (1989) Visualization and interpretation of plant isozymes D.E. Soltis P.S. Soltis (Eds) Isozymes in Plant Biology Dioscorides Press Portland, OR 5–45

    Google Scholar 

  • E.O. Wiley (1981) Phylogenetics John Wiley and Sons New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeven A.C. and Zhukovsky P.M. 1975. Cannabidaceae [sic]. In: Dictionary of Cultivated Plants and their Centres of Diversity, Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 62–63, 129–130

  • Zhukovsky P.M. 1964. Hemp (Cannabis L.) In: Cultivated Plants and their Wild Relatives, 2nd edn., Ch. 9. Publishing House Molos, Leningrad, USSR, pp. 456–458

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Karl W. Hillig

  2. 1010 Saratoga Road, Ballston Lake, NY, 12019, USA

    Karl W. Hillig

Authors
  1. Karl W. Hillig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karl W. Hillig.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hillig, K.W. Genetic evidence for speciation in Cannabis (Cannabaceae). Genet Resour Crop Evol 52, 161–180 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-003-4452-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-003-4452-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation