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Convergent evolution of psilocybin biosynthesis by psychedelic mushrooms

Ali R. Awan, Jaclyn M. Winter, Daniel Turner, William M. Shaw, Laura M. Suz, Alexander J. Bradshaw, Tom Ellis, Bryn T.M. Dentinger
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/374199
Ali R. Awan
1Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Jaclyn M. Winter
2Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Daniel Turner
3Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Oxford, UK
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William M. Shaw
1Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Laura M. Suz
4Comparative Plant & Fungal Biology, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3DS, UK
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Alexander J. Bradshaw
5Natural History Museum of Utah & School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
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Tom Ellis
1Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Bryn T.M. Dentinger
5Natural History Museum of Utah & School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
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  • For correspondence: bdentinger@nhmu.utah.edu
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Abstract

Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound with clinical applications produced by dozens of mushroom species1. There has been a longstanding interest in psilocybin research with regard to treatment for addiction2, depression3, and end-of-life suffering4. However, until recently very little was known about psilocybin biosynthesis and its ecological role. Here we confirm and refine recent findings5 about the genes underpinning psilocybin biosynthesis, discover that there is more than one psilocybin biosynthesis cluster in mushrooms, and we provide the first data directly addressing psilocybin’s ecological role. By analysing independent genome assemblies for the hallucinogenic mushrooms Psilocybe cyanescens and Pluteus salicinus we recapture the recently discovered psilocybin biosynthesis cluster5,6 and show that a transcription factor previously implicated in its regulation is actually not part of the cluster. Further, we show that the mushroom Inocybe corydalina produces psilocybin but does not contain the established biosynthetic cluster, and we present an alternative cluster. Finally, a meta-transcriptome analysis of wild-collected mushrooms provides evidence for intra-mushroom insect gene expression of flies whose larvae grow inside Psilocybe cyanescens. These larvae were successfully reared into adults. Our results show that psilocybin does not confer complete protection against insect mycophagy, and the hypothesis that it is produced as an adaptive defense compound may need to be reconsidered.

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Posted July 27, 2018.
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Convergent evolution of psilocybin biosynthesis by psychedelic mushrooms
Ali R. Awan, Jaclyn M. Winter, Daniel Turner, William M. Shaw, Laura M. Suz, Alexander J. Bradshaw, Tom Ellis, Bryn T.M. Dentinger
bioRxiv 374199; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/374199
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Convergent evolution of psilocybin biosynthesis by psychedelic mushrooms
Ali R. Awan, Jaclyn M. Winter, Daniel Turner, William M. Shaw, Laura M. Suz, Alexander J. Bradshaw, Tom Ellis, Bryn T.M. Dentinger
bioRxiv 374199; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/374199

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