Grant: Engage Grants Program

LuminUltra, a privately owned company established in Fredericton, NB, develops and brings to market*microbial detection and characterization technologies. In an effort to further diversify their line of products,*LuminUltra has requested my help to develp novel DNA-based kits and technologies aiming at detecting and*quantifying microorganisms of interest to the Cannabis industry. The cannabis industry is presently booming in*Canada and licensed producers are seeking external expertise to detect and quantify microorganisms of interest*(microbial plant pathogens, human pathogens, beneficial plant-beneficial microorganisms, etc.) present under*commercial cannabis production conditions. In this project, I therefore propose, in collaboration with my*partner LuminUltra, to: 1) characterize the cannabis rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbiomes; and 2)*identify, based on the results obtained in objective 1, target microorganisms for the development of specific*monitoring quantitative bioassays for use under commercial cannabis production conditions. This project will*help better understand the microbiome of the cannabis plant, as well as identify microbial targets for the*development of novel quantitative monitoring technologies. Tracking some of these key microorganisms under*commercial cannabis production conditions will have a positive impact on improving plant productivity,*ensuring appropriate plant disease control measures, as well as preventing human pathogen disease outbreaks*and ensuring optimal quality control of cannabis products.