# Gene pool

> The gene pool is the total set of alleles present in a population, cultivar group or species; a narrow gene pool limits what breeders can select from.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/gene-pool.html
- Also written: gene pools, genetic diversity, allelic diversity, shrinking gene pool, narrowing gene pool
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Supported
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

The gene pool is all the [alleles](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/allele.md) present in a population, at all loci. A large, diverse gene pool holds many versions of each [gene](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/gene.md); a narrow one holds few. Breeders can only select from what is there.

## In practice

The evidence suggests the commercial cannabis gene pool is narrowing. Large chemical datasets show commercial products cluster into a few chemotype and [terpene](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/terpene.md) groups (Smith et al. 2022). [Landraces](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md) in source regions have been mixed with imported [hybrids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hybrid.md). Popular lines are crossed again and again with similar material, and one cut can travel under many names, so the number of truly different [genotypes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md) behind the market is smaller than the number of names suggests.

Patents on plants, traits and methods add another pressure: they can restrict how some material is used. The facts are public records; the concern is the effect on the commons.

The response is preservation: keeping landraces, [heirlooms](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/heirloom.md), old cuts and males alive, documenting them, and sharing them openly.

## Don't confuse with

- **Germplasm**: the physical seeds, plants and tissue.
- **Genome**: the DNA of one individual; a gene pool spans many.
- **Number of strains**: names are not genetic diversity.

## Myth check

"Everything tastes the same now" has evidence behind it; see [why everything tastes the same](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/why-everything-tastes-the-same.md).

## Related terms

[Germplasm](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germplasm.md), [Genetic bottleneck](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genetic-bottleneck.md), [Genetic drift](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genetic-drift.md), [Landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md), [Founder effect](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/founder-effect.md)

## Read more

- [Patents and the gene pool: who can own a cannabis plant?](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/patents-and-the-gene-pool.md)
- [Why everything tastes the same: the evidence that commercial cannabis is converging](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/why-everything-tastes-the-same.md)

## Sources

1. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. 2022. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLOS ONE 17(5):e0267498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267498
2. Lynch RC, Vergara D, Tittes S, et al. 2016. Genomic and chemical diversity in Cannabis. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 35(5-6):349-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689.2016.1265363