News: Scientists Revive Prehistoric Cannabis Enzymes and Uncover More Medical Uses.

Published 10AM EST, Fri Feb 20, 2026 Modern cannabis genomes still carry traces of older chemistry, even after those enzymes vanished millions of years ago. By rebuilding extinct proteins, Dr. Robin van Velzen at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands tested how older enzymes behaved.

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Researchers at Wageningen University & Research reconstructed extinct cannabis enzymes to trace when the plant first developed the ability to produce THC, CBD, and CBC. Their work revealed that the earliest ancestral enzyme produced none of these cannabinoids, while a later version acted as a generalist, synthesizing all three. Over time, gene duplication allowed evolution to specialize each enzyme copy — one favoring THC, another CBD, and a third CBC — explaining why modern cannabis chemistry is the product of millions of years of incremental molecular refinement rather than a single evolutionary event.

A standout finding was that these ancient enzymes proved more structurally robust than their modern counterparts when expressed outside the plant. This stability makes them prime candidates for microbial biosynthesis, where engineered yeast could produce cannabinoids in controlled fermentation tanks rather than through field cultivation. One resurrected enzyme was particularly notable for channeling most precursor material into CBC, a minor cannabinoid with emerging anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential that is naturally scarce in nearly all commercial cannabis varieties.

The study also highlights the evolutionary relationship between cannabis and hops, noting that hops lack the genetic steps needed for cannabinoid production — though whether cannabis gained this pathway or hops lost it remains unresolved. The researchers acknowledge that gaps in available plant genomes and the difficulty of replicating trichome conditions in the lab set limits on the approach, but emphasize that ancestral protein reconstruction offers a practical bridge between evolutionary biology and applied drug development.

The identification of sturdier enzyme variants that can be engineered into yeast production systems addresses one of medical cannabis's most persistent challenges: batch-to-batch consistency. As regulatory frameworks in Europe and the Americas increasingly demand standardized cannabinoid content for medical products, access to genetically stable, enzyme-characterized varieties or microbially produced cannabinoids could reshape both the supply chain and the competitive landscape for genetics companies operating at the intersection of breeding and biotechnology.

Source: Earth.com