The Science

Cannabis identity,
defined from DNA.

True Cut uses genome-wide SNP fingerprinting and population-genetic analysis to document cultivar identity. It is not based on names, traits, or chemical profiles.

Researcher profile ->Methodology Publications

Research foundation

Built from cannabis genetics research.

The software is based on Dr. Anna Schwabe's dissertation research on variation in Cannabis sativa and her later peer-reviewed work on strain reliability, sample comparison, and genetic verification frameworks.

That foundation matters because True Cut is not asking users to trust a strain name or a marketing claim. The site connects the product workflow to the research problem: cannabis names, traits, and chemistry can drift away from measured genetic identity.

Selected citations

A Multifaceted Approach to Address Variation in Cannabis sativa

University of Northern Colorado dissertation (2019)

Genetic tools weed out misconceptions of strain reliability in Cannabis sativa: implications for a budding industry

Journal of Cannabis Research (2019)

Comparative Genetic Structure of Cannabis sativa Including Federally Produced, Wild Collected, and Cultivated Samples

Frontiers in Plant Science (2021)

View publications ->

WHAT THIS IS

Identity is the foundation.

True Cut draws a bright line between identity documentation and other genetic or legal uses.

What it is

Genetic identity verification
Cultivar documentation
Relationship analysis

What it is not

Chemical testing
Trait prediction
Breeding optimization
A grant of legal ownership

Markers explained

What is a genetic fingerprint?

A genetic fingerprint is a pattern across many positions in the genome. Each position is a marker, and the combined pattern helps distinguish one genotype from another.

Unlike cannabinoid or terpene profiles, the DNA pattern does not shift with light, nutrients, harvest timing, or processing. That stability is why marker data can anchor identity.

The fingerprint does not decide historical naming or legal ownership by itself. It documents whether samples are identical, different, or related.

SAMPLE COMPARISON

EXPECTED

A T G C A T G A C T

A T A C A T G A C T

Sample A matches the expected marker pattern at the highlighted positions. Sample B differs at one marker. The real comparison uses many markers, not this simplified view.

POPULATION CONTEXT

A genetic fingerprint has a neighborhood.

After a sample is genotyped, PCA gives it a visual neighborhood inside the RADseq cohort. Nearby points suggest closer genetic similarity; distant points suggest separation.

Genetic Similarity Map

Public evidence samples are shown in a shared Plotly PCA view so users can inspect genetic neighborhoods without exposing raw genotype data.

Focused cultivar

Cherry Wooder Ice

2D overview mode

Company: The Social Leaf, The Botanist
Location: NJ
Public type: drug-type
PCA source: True Cut Universe

PC1 17.33PC2 0.01PC3 9.35

Click a point to lock the cultivar detail here. The 3D mode uses the same public PCA coordinates as the 2D view and stays an orientation aid rather than the final identity decision.

How to Read This Graph

Nearby points are genetically closer.

Use the map to see whether a sample sits near other submitted samples or stands apart. The map is a visual guide to similarity, not the final identity decision.

Technical context: this display is a PCA view generated from RADseq marker data and interpreted alongside direct pairwise similarity metrics.

Map

visual genetic neighborhood using PCA

3D inspect

rotate, zoom, and hover the same PCA cohort

Genetic Similarity Score

pairwise comparison, reported with IBS where used

This view is meant for orientation: it helps explain genetic neighborhoods at a glance and gives the viewer a quick sense of relatedness before the deeper report.

HOW IT WORKS