CBDA allele detection

youPCR for the CBDA allele

Etienne de Meijer pioneered the work on the Bd:Bt allele governing cannabinoid expression. We used Pacific Biosciences single molecule sequencing to identify the variants that drive this genetic switch and turned those into a colorimetric assay known as youPCR® CBDA Marker Assay.

This test will turn yellow if 1 or 2 copies of active CBDA allele exist. It cannot distinguish between Type II (50:50 CBDA:THCA) and Type III (all CBDA) plants but can rule out a Type I plant and inform you if a male has potential CBDA genetics worth breeding.

All of the plants on the X axis and at a 45 degree angle to the X axis would light up yellow with the youPCR CBDA Marker Test. BD = Blue Dream and AK 47 = Ak47. The Negative Sign is a Negative control and should always be Pink. We also sell Positive controls for each assay which can be helpful for troubleshooting purposes.

To further validate this test we collected 25 HPLC confirmed samples from the Emerald Cup in 2015 with the help of Sonoma Labs. We collected 36 hemp samples from a Colorado hemp farm for on-site testing and 11 samples HPLC confirmed from  Massachusetts. We have 100% accuracy with the HPLC confirmed samples and are still awaiting 1 Hemp sample to mature to test for THCA+ status.


Below is a subset of the diversity of CBDA samples that this test was validated on.

Our StrainSEEK® data on 100s of CBDA cultivars suggests a recent selection for these genetics and an AC/DC or Cannatonic bottleneck that has resulted from this selection. There is always a remote possibility that we have not sampled all CBDA alleles in the population.  if you encounter chemotyped CBDA strains with more distant heritage and our test fails to detect your CBDA gene, contact us and we will work together to sequence your strain and improve the test to capture your unique genetics.

Our webstore has youPCR CBDA allele detection reagents for sale.

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