This discovery could help researchers develop mushrooms with unique psychedelic compounds.
Researchers in Australia have analyzed the genomes of more than 100 species of commercial and wild Cuban psilocybin, a psychoactive fungus known as the magic mushroom. The findings may ultimately help growers develop "designer mushrooms" with unique health benefits, the team said.
Psychedelic mushrooms have been used by humans for a long time, probably thousands of years. The main component in these mushrooms that affects our brain is known as psilocybin. While there are many mushrooms that contain psilocybin, Psilocybin Cuba is the most common commercially grown variety today.
Psilocybin is, of course, recreational, although illegal in many places because of its euphoria and dissociating effects. But in recent years, it has begun to gain more and more attention due to its potential health applications. Studies have found that psilocybin, combined with psychological**, can help those struggling with depression, substance use problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder that don't respond to other options. The first phase 3 trial of psilocybin** depression began this year and results are expected as early as mid-2024.
While it will take time to confirm the medicinal benefits of psilocybin supplements** in large-scale studies, many people have used magic mushrooms for a variety of reasons. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to better understand the many naturally grown or cultivated varieties of Psilocybin Cuba, and how our domestication of the fungus changed its evolutionary course.
With the help of members of the underground magic mushroom grower community, the team eventually collected samples of 122 varieties, including 86 commercial varieties and 38 native Australian wild varieties. They then sequenced and compared the genes of these breeds. Their findings were published Monday in the journal Current Biology.
The team found that commercial breeds have much less genetic diversity than wild breeds, which often happens in domesticated organisms. But this discrepancy may not always have existed, as the team also found evidence that Australian varieties were naturalized, meaning they originated from mushrooms introduced to the continent from elsewhere. Today, their greater diversity suggests that these naturalized mushrooms have recovered from a lack of variation in commercial varieties.
Alistair McTaggart, the study's author, said in a statement published by Cell Press: "Some of these breeds have little to no diversity other than the genes that control sexual reproduction. Whether this happened deliberately, the fixation of traits through targeted inbreeding over the past half-century, or unintentionally due to a lack of diversity, is difficult to know. ”
The research of Alistair McTagut and his team can tell us more about the genetic history of these psychedelic mushrooms, but also their future. Scientists have identified unique genetic variants associated with psilocybin production in naturalized mushrooms that can be used to create "designer mushrooms" that choose the relevant differences in the natural way psilocybin is synthesized. The authors of the study have set up a startup called Funky Fungus, which is already using the research to develop unique psychedelic mushroom varieties for further research and drug development.
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