Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an economically important plant with growing commercial demand, following recent legalisations. This has driven the development of new mass-production techniques, such as micropropagation, which enables rapid clonal propagation of cultivars. However, due to the intensity of the process, mutations are likely to occur in these cultivars, which can negatively affect growth and uniformity of plants. Molecular marker analysis, using markers such as RAPD, ISSR and microsatellites presents a simple and fast method for detecting such mutations. The aim of this thesis was to detect somaclonal variation in clonally propagated plants of four genotypes of medicinal cannabis, using these markers. We found that the markers were able to detect variation at different levels of the genome indicating that an in-depth analysis of somaclonal variation requires multiple types of molecular markers, as each revealed occurring mutations at different frequencies. Using these markers, we found that micropropagation generally preserves the genetic identity of mother plants. Nevertheless, we also observed mutations indicative of somaclonal variation in all four genotypes. This indicates that micropropagation does not ensure complete genetic stability, making regular monitoring for mutations essential for maintaining uniformity of mature plants.
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