The First Publicly Available Annotated Genome for Cannabis plants

Recently we have seen a relaxation of the historic restrictions on the use and subsequent research on the Cannabis plants in North America. We have recently described a pipeline for the creation of annotated protein databases using a combination of genomic and proteomic data and the application of this method toward the analysis of the proteomes of Cannabis plants. In parallel with our work, we approached the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to align and annotate publicly deposited genomic files for these plants. In September of 2019, this project was completed. The result, NCBI Cannabis sativa Annotation Release 100 is now live and publicly available. The annotated genome allows, for the first time, the use of classical genetics and proteomics tools for the interrogation of these plants. Furthermore, the presence of an annotated genome within the NCBI Genome browser now permits any researcher with a web browser to manually examine or BLAST genetic sequences, vastly reducing the resources required to create primers to amplify genes from the plants or microbial contaminants that may affect them. We describe this new resource and some points of obvious value to the scientific community as well as the integration into the Cannabis Proteome Draft Map Project.\n\nSignificance StatementUntil recently laws in North America have restricted nearly all research on Cannabis plants. Until recent research from our lab, only a few hundred genes and proteins from the plant had been annotated for putative function. The construction of a publicly available annotated genome for this plant allows, for the first time, the use of traditional genomic and proteomic tools for the investigation of these plants. We evaluate herein the first fully annotated publicly available genome for Cannabis plants and the integration of this resource into www.CannabisDraftmap.org