According to a recently published study, researchers from the University of Utah’s Natural History Museum and the University of Utah appear to have started producing the psychedelic substance psilocybin around 67 million ago. This was right at the time of dinosaurs’ demise.
The results suggested that wood decomposition, as opposed to other niches such as dung or soil, was “the ancestral eco-system of Psilocybe“, though the ability of some types of mushrooms to produce psilocybin later seemed to have jumped to others after tens and millions of years.
The authors noted that past research had speculated that termites may have been the “selective force” for psilocybin to evolve as a modulator in the symbiosis.
According to an announcement from the University of Utah, the new report represents the most comprehensive genomic diversity study ever conducted for the genus Psilocybe. It involved the analysis of dozens of specimens, including 39 species which had never been genetically sequenced before.
The team published a dense nine-page research in the journal PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, earlier this month.
The emergence of psilocybin in Psilocybe coincided with the K-Pg massextinction event.
Researchers were able to track psilocybin gene patterns through a more detailed family tree. The project sheds light on the evolution of psychedelic mushrooms, including when it may have been possible for psilocybin to be produced.
The authors suggested that physical interaction between wood-dwelling fungi and other fungi “may be a way in which the [biosynthetic genes cluster] could be transmitted horizontally.” The true vector for these horizontal gene transfers is not known.
Alexander Bradshaw is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Utah, and the lead author of the study. No one had ever sequenced type specimens of this size, but now we can produce genomic and molecular data that is comparable to the gold standard Psilocybe for comparison.
A team of #UofU-led researchers has completed the largest genomic diversity study of Psilocybe fungi–known colloquially as “magic mushrooms”–laying the groundwork of study for what could be a revolution in how we treat mental health conditions.https://t.co/KdvMdYvfxW
University of Utah (@UUtah). 10 January 2024
The study says that type specimens “are essential for accurately naming diversity and are the ultimate authority in applying names to other collection.” However, it also states that Psilocybespecies are not often collected and there are many specimens represented by only one collection. This makes research with these specimens extremely difficult.
This work is a major step forward in understanding the evolution of Psilocybe because it is the very first study to use a wide range of species and is based solely on type specimens, said Virginia Ramirez Cruz, a mycologist from the Universidad de Guadalajara.
According to a university press release, the study establishes that psilocybin first synthesized by Psilocybe “with four or more possible horizontal gene transfer to other mushrooms between 40 [million] and 9 million years ago.”
It also revealed that “two distinct gene order within the gene cluster which produces psilocybin.” The two gene patterns are indicative of an ancient split within the genus. This suggests two independent acquisitions in its evolutionary history. This is the first study to show such a strong evolution pattern in the gene sequences that underpin the synthesis of psychoactive proteins.
The authors noted that despite the high likelihood of horizontal transfers, the presence of a psilocybin cluster gene in all of the Psilocybespecimens studied–“suggests the [gene] cluster is primarily passed vertically within the species, although certain patterns suggest that this may not the only mechanism.”
Bryn Dentinger is the senior author of the study and curator of mycology for the National History Museum of Utah. He said that the findings of the study could be used to fuel future therapeutic research.
There’s an abundance of diversity in these compounds. This kind of molecular research is needed to understand how and where they’re produced. If psilocybin turns out to be such a wonder drug, it will be necessary to develop therapeutics in order to increase its efficacy. What if the substance already exists in nature?
The study does not attempt to give a definitive answer as to the ecological role of Psilocybin. The authors suggest that disorientation and altered behavior among some animals (including humans) could be either deterrents (to protect the fungus), or attractants (to spread spores). However, they note that some species are rare, while pharmacological effects can be delayed.
Psilocybin may also be a historical defense against insect pests, although “anecdotes and personal observations confirm that psilocybin-containing mushrooms regularly have living insect larvae in them and they can be reared to adults,” suggesting that any chemical defense properties “may be ineffective against insects or that some insects may have evolved detoxifying capabilities in response.”
Others hypothesize that it’s some sort of “inducible chemical defense system” associated with the blue pigment that forms when psilocybin-containing mushrooms are damaged. The psilocybin then becomes psilocin. This polymer chain can cause damage to gut tissue.
The study’s authors stated that the proponents of the polymer hypothesis propose “the ‘polymer hypotheses’, where the psilocin-oligo/polymers are an inducible defence against fungivory, and psilocybin, is just the artillery, and psilocybin, is just the artillery held in reserve for true chemical weapons.”
The researchers note that “the formations of blue psilocin polymers are invariably linked to psilocybin synthesis through the multiple independent inheritances as well as convergent evolutionary evolution.”
According to researchers at the University of Utah, slugs could be one possibility. They plan to test this hypothesis in future studies.
The authors are working on experiments to test a new theory they have named the Gastropod Hypothesis. The divergence and timing of Psilocybe coincide with the KPg boundaries, the geological markers of the asteroid which threw Earth in a harsh, prolonged winter, killing 80% of life. Fungi and terrestrial gastropods were two life forms that flourished in the darkness and decay. The fossil record and other evidence show that the gastropods multiplied and diversified after the asteroid strike. It is also known that terrestrial snails are the main predators of mushroom. The study’s molecular date of Psilocybe dates back to 65 million years ago. It’s possible that the psilocybin developed as a slug-deterrent.”
The university’s press release stated that institutions from around the world sent samples to be sequenced in the study. This included some specimens collected over 150 years ago.
Bradshaw stated that it was impossible to overstate how important collections are for studies such as this. We are standing on giants’ shoulders, as they spent thousands of hours of human-power to create these collections. I can now write an email to request access to rare samples, some of which may have never been collected before.
Separate research indicates that humans have consumed psilocybin mushroom for millions of years. Cannabis use, on the other hand, is thought to be more modern.
According to studies published in 2018 and 2019, humans began using the plant genus cannabis around 10,000 years ago. Initially, hemp was used for fibers and food.
Cannabis consumption for its sensory effects dates back about 3,000 years. About 2,700 B.C.E., a Chinese emperor smoked marijuana. called the plant “a first-class herbal.” HTML_
A 2018 study found that cannabis and the genus containing hops, marijuana’s closest living relative , diverged around 28 million years ago.
A second study indicates that the origin of cannabinoids such as THC and CBD could have been due to genetic mischief caused by ancient viruses.
Scientists Discover the Exact Reason Marijuana Causes ‘Munchies,’ in a New Federally Funded Study
Photo by Dick Culbert.
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