Identification of bacteria present in the harvest and postharvest stages in medical cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) grown in Colombia.

Cannabis has various secondary metabolites, such as cannabinoids (THC and CBD), which are of great interest due to their interactions with the human body's cannabinoid system, offering therapeutic effects, which has led to an increase in crop production. This research aimed to characterize the bacteria present in medicinal cannabis inflorescences during the harvest and post-harvest stages. Cannabis inflorescences of two commercial genotypes (Gen A and Gen B) were incubated on Luria Bertani agar to evaluate the presence of bacteria, and macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the resulting colonies were determined from axenic cultures. Molecular identification was performed using the 16S ribosomal region. During the harvest stage, four isolates were obtained, all of which were Gram-negative. One was from Gen A and three from Gen B. At the post-harvest stage, seven isolates were identified as Gram-negative: five originated from Gen A, and two were from Gen B. In total, 11 isolates were obtained, eight of which were identified as Pseudomonas sp. The remaining six isolates were identified as follows: one from the Enterobacteriaceae family, one from Stenotrophomonas panacihumi, and one from the Agrobacterium tumefaciens complex. These results provide insights into the bacterial composition of cannabis samples harvested from Colombia.