any genetisists?

[bhouncy]

Just had a thought. Would it be possible through some sort of gene manipulation to put the the gene that makes THC in cannabis into another plant species? I was thinking of olives... imagine the oil you would get packed with the perception altering effects of the magical herb!

I say this because I read a while back about some country where blindness from lack of vitamin A was a problem. They genetically modified rice to produce the vitamin.. the rice now has an orange colour and blindness is no longer a problem from lack of vit A.

OK ethics come into it but it would be interesting to think that someone is working on this right now.

Why stop there?.. humans who produce THC.. that thread about smoking your legs could become a reality!

[Oneironaut]

I highly doubt the genes for producing THC could be inserted into humans so we grow trichomes like buds do. Besides, why would you want to smoke something other than weed? I've always found it a remarkable coincidence that the plant that gets you high when you smoke it also tastes good when you smoke it. I can't imagine it would be very pleasant to smoke a fern or a cactus or a dandelion, THC or no THC.

[stinkyattic]

Putting the THC production gene into a very closely related plant like hops (Cannabacae, Humulus lupulus) would probably not be too much of a challenge.
Can you imagine getting stoned off a nice IPA? Mmmm.
OR growing cannabis that grows as a 20-foot tall vine with dangling buds all over it?

But to make humans produce it would be next to impossible. We simply don't have any of the accompanying life-processes required. See, hops would be easy because it is a) related and b) already has resin glands. So inserting the genes to make those resin glands produce cannabinoid compounds rather than luplulins would be easy.

[phytokind]

They usually use bacteria to insert genes into and produce desired compounds. Insulin is produced by bacteria that have had an insulin-producing gene inserted into them.

[bhouncy]

OK.. the human one was me taking things to far and trying.. and failing misrably... to be funny. I know for a lot of people the taste and smell of cannabis is very appealing but other people would smoke banana skins if they knew it would get them high. Having a bottle of olive skunk oil to use in stir frys and salads would appeal to me.

[stinkyattic]

It seems to me that getting something to produce resins would be a lot harder just because of the nature of the resin itself. You'd need something (a plant) that already has the ability to take carbon and transform basically CO2 and organic available carbon into sugars (more complex carbon moloecules) and eventually into VOCs (most complex forms of carbon).

[phytokind]

About that human thing, imagine if people had a gland somewhere that produced pure resin, like a big oozing zit. You could just squeeze some out and smoke it.

[bhouncy]

About that human thing, imagine if people had a gland somewhere that produced pure resin, like a big oozing zit. You could just squeeze some out and smoke it.

LOL.. just as long as it is not mixed with all that puss... sick man!:p

[bhouncy]

It seems to me that getting something to produce resins would be a lot harder just because of the nature of the resin itself. You'd need something (a plant) that already has the ability to take carbon and transform basically CO2 and organic available carbon into sugars (more complex carbon moloecules) and eventually into VOCs (most complex forms of carbon).

You certainly know a lot on the subject. What is your background study wise?

[bhouncy]

Another question. I know that cannbis has been specifically been bred to increase potency and yeild. Is it possible to use genetics to mutate and increase the speed of this process?

[stinkyattic]

You could apply mutagens to your breeding stock, but

a) mutagens in general can be REALLY dangerous to humas, are you going to be able to cause a mutation without exposing yourself to a carcinogen?

b) you are not guaranteed to even get a mutation that is heritable, because the process of RNA repair will ..um.. repair it and

c) if you do happen to get a heritable trait, will it even be noticeable

d) will the mutation be detrimental to the ability of the plant to survive its growing conditions, grow to maturity, and produce viable pollen and seeds and

3) if the other conditions are actually met, the chances of that mutation specifically applying to increased resin production are minutely small.

So in theory, yes, but in practice, read up on your Punnett squares and start practicing backcrossing!

[bhouncy]

So I guess to get from idea to the final product would take a lot of time and effort with a lot of failures along the way. I'll stick to growing my daffodils.

[m.g.]

putting on a buzz no matter what the stimulii is is nothing more than a chemical reaction, so theorhetically it should work...