They’re From Argentina, And They’re One Of The Few Labs That’s Been Able To Eliminate THC From Cannabis With Gene Editing. – Nation World News

three Entrepreneurs got the tool to remove them cannabis his main psychoactive ingredientThe tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and managed to figure it out start up among first laboratory In the world to obtain genetically edited variants capable of applying this technology to this crop that could avoid millionaire losses in an industry that goes beyond pharmaceutical use.

Two Biotechnologists and an Economist Tool managed to design reproductive engineering It acts like a biological scissor inspired by an Antarctic bacterium, modifying the genome of cannabis and allow to obtain better plants for medicinal and industrial applications.

We are the first Argentine laboratory that managed to efficiently edit the cannabis genome at an experimental level, with reporter proteins that allow us to monitor the efficiency of the process, he says. Ramiro OliveiraAnimal Biotechnology Expert and CEO biotech chalisa, Created and incubated by company scientists National University of San Martin (that).

stick up for Stephen Hernandoexperts in plant biotechnology, and Alexander Germe, Director of Finance and Project Strategy. The Biotechnological Research Institute of Unsam is located on the Miguelet campus start up Account from last year with authorization from coniset And this national health ministry For your research and development projects with the cannabis plant.

In Argentina, according to Oliveira, they had not yet started applying. biotechnology equipment for the improvement of this plant. The cannabis revolution in the world through biotechnology. It is an industry that is growing rapidly and prohibitionism meant that this crop was not studied scientifically in the world: sooner or later, it will be like another crop of agricultural value, the researchers explain. . We understood this and decided to become a leader in the development of sophisticated tools that allow us to solve problems that are already representative in the industry today. For example, high levels of THC This is causing huge losses to the industrial cannabis growers.

By regulation, the THC level of the cannabis plant cannabis sativa For the manufacture of products for medicinal or pharmaceutical use it cannot exceed 0.3%. Above that value, it is considered a crop with psychoactive properties. The plant naturally expresses a higher percentage of THC than is allowed and must be subjected to complex extraction processes to eliminate this cannabinoid with a high cost.

These genetically edited crops will be the solution to the problem that generates millionaire losers for the industry and will position us as a benchmark in biotechnology applied to this crop, says Oliveira.

With previous experience in highly complex biotechnology projects, such as the cloning of horses and improvements with genetic engineering of crops such as soybeans, wheat and alfalfa, the team has since last year focused on their new venture, the main objective of which is to : Developing them based on technology known as own gene editing tools CRISPR-Cas9 To be able to optimize the properties of the plant. with them biological scissors, the researchers claim they can edit DNA precisely and efficiently.

The first step was to identify the gene that needed to be worked on. In this case, it is associated with the presence of THC in the plant. The team then designed biological scissors to introduce into the plant: an enzyme that cuts d n With a ribonucleic acid guide (arn) to accurately orient the region of the genome to modify it.

We apply an editing strategy in which genetic material from outside the plant is not used. For that we separate the cells from the plants and remove their cell wall. These cells (protoplasts) co-incubate with enzymes and guide [de ARN] To carry out editing, which aims to disrupt and lose its function as the gene responsible for THC synthesis. This makes it possible to produce better plants, without being considered transgenic, explains Oliveira. Country, Once these edited cells are obtained, they are selected and reproduced in a new plant through in vitro culture [en pequeos recipientes con agar rico en hormonas y nutrientes], In the greenhouse, they are molecularly evaluated to check their growth success.

Laboratory tests showed that they were able to fine-tune that process by effectively modifying genome From the cannabis plant. This confirms that our technology works and is a great step forward in science and technology for Argentina. It is a great progress both in the country and in the region that will allow us to think about improvements in other developments productive interest for this harvest, highlights Oliveira.

The team argues that the tool has no limits, as it also allows you to boost the level of others. cannabinoid Plants that are expressed in low concentrations but which have high healing potential and have not yet been studied due to difficulties in purifying them in quantities. It also makes it possible to regulate the ratio of different cannabinoids to their use. medicine or cosmeticsAs medical research advances in defining dosage limits.

Points to development of another application that the team oversees industrial hemp, It is anticipated that hemp fiber will compete with cotton in a few years, predict the entrepreneurs, who are seeing potential demand from other industries in the world. In that case, the cannabis industry will demand better plants that can be applied to comprehensive management. The tools we develop serve to produce plants that are more resistant to inclement weather and pathogens. With these technologies, we will be able to develop non-transgenic plants that are more productive, efficient in use of resources and with lower production costs.

Last month, ahead of a presentation by the team, National Commission on Agricultural Technology (Konabia) informed them that the development of THC-free plant varieties with CRISPR-Cas9 technology is not considered transgenic. This means that these plants can be on the market quickly in two or three years. This not only guarantees the safety of this type of crop, but also saves the company between 50 and 100 million dollars, which It will be necessary to regulate and market a crop considered to be transgenic, concludes the team.

For this project, the team received financial support from ministry of producer development And this Under Secretary of the Knowledge Economy,

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They're From Argentina, And They're One Of The Few Labs That's Been Able To Eliminate THC From Cannabis With Gene Editing. - Nation World News