‘Designer Shrooms’ Could Be Coming as Scientists Unlock Genetics of Magic Mushrooms
The findings could help researchers develop mushrooms with unique psychedelic compounds.
Researchers in Australia have analyzed the genomes of over 100 commercial and wild-grown varieties of Psilocybe cubensis , a psychoactive fungi known as the magic mushroom. The findings may eventually help growers develop “designer shrooms” that have their own unique health benefits, the team says.
Psychedelic mushrooms have been used by humans for a long time, possibly for thousands of years . The main ingredient in these mushrooms that affects our brain is called psilocybin. Though there are many psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Psilocybe cubensis is the most common commercially grown species nowadays.
Psilocybin is of course taken recreationally, if illegally in many places, for its euphoric and dissociative effects. But in recent years, it’s started to receive a lot more attention for its potential health applications. Studies have found that psilocybin used in combination with psychotherapy may help people struggling with depression , substance use problems , and post-traumatic stress disorder who haven’t responded to other options. The first phase III trials of psilocybin for depression began this year and are expected to yield results as early as mid-2024.
While it will take time to confirm the medicinal benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy in large-scale research, there are plenty of people already using magic mushrooms for any number of reasons. Researchers at The University of Queensland, Australia wanted to better understand the many naturally grown or cultivated varieties of P. cubensis out there today and how our domestication of this fungi has changed its evolutionary journey.
Aided by members of an underground community of magic mushroom growers, the team ultimately collected samples from 122 varieties of P. cubensis , including 86 commercial cultivars and 38 varieties locally grown wild in Australia. They then sequenced and compared the genetics of these varieties. Their results were published Monday in the journal Current Biology.
The team found that commercial cultivars contained much less genetic diversity than their wild counterparts, which often happens to living things that become domesticated. But this difference may not have always existed, since […]
‘Designer Shrooms’ Could Be Coming as Scientists Unlock Genetics of Magic Mushrooms
