29. Evolutionary Significance of Endocannabinoid Receptor Polymorphisms

Abstract

Research into the Endocannabinoid system (ECS) is attractive because of the medical implications and the association with medicinal Cannabis. Yet, little research regarding evolutionary aspects of the ECS is available. The ECS consists of two main receptors CB1, CB2, and their primary ligands Anandamide and 2-arachadonyl-glycerol, which regulate a range of homeostatic related processes. The ECS is present in all Chordates, but there are no studies addressing the homology of the ECS throughout Chordates, or beyond. Therefore, we sought to identify significant gene homologies in the receptors and their corresponding genes of the ECS across Chordates as well as demonstrate the conservation of putative functional polymorphisms identified in humans, and examine the conservation across species outside of Chordates. We hypothesize that there will be conservation of the ECS system within chordates and expect conservation of certain polymorphisms indicative of specific functions. Additionally, we expect to identify this system as unique to Chordates with little corresponding conservation outside of Chordates. Using gene and protein sequence comparisons we will produce a unique genome-wide association study of the ECS. Our initial search of SNP’s show CB1 genes in H. sapiens are associated with various clinical and behavioral outcomes, this was found using SNPedia search engine. The remainder of our search derives from bioinformatic software applications, such as: PDB, NCBI, DNA Master, and Mega. This novel study will characterize the ECS within the context of evolution providing unique functional implications of the ECS in chordates and the evolutionary history of this system.