Scientists have realized that magic mushrooms are stranger than we thought

Scientists have found that the magic behind so-called “magic mushrooms” – psilocybin, a psychedelic compound – has evolved at least twice in mushrooms, and in very different ways.

Researchers in Germany and Austria examined two different types of magic mushrooms. They showed that while both species synthesized psilocybin, the biochemistry each relied on to produce the natural compound was very different. The findings suggest that psilocybin may be an example of convergent evolution, where two unrelated life forms evolve to develop similar traits or traits.

“Mushrooms twice independently learned how to make the popular magic mushroom natural product psilocybin,” the authors wrote in the paper. published Last month in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Same, same, but different

The type of magic mushroom that people may be most familiar with belongs to this genus Psilocybe; Indeed, many species within this genus synthesize psilocybin. But some other species of different mushroom genera also produce the narcotic ingredient. The researchers were particularly interested in studying psilocybin-making mushrooms within the genus Inocip. This genus is known for its distinctive texture of mushrooms, which are commonly known as fibrous cap mushrooms. Importantly, this genus is also known for its toxicity, as many of its over 1,000 species are known to produce muscarin, a toxic compound that can cause various negative side effects and even cardiac arrest. In other words, please don’t try to eat these.

In a series of experiments, the researchers studied the chemical and genetic basis of the disease Psilocybe and Inocip The mushroom that ultimately gives rise to psilocybin. To their surprise, they found little in common between the two mushrooms. Inocip The mushroom does not appear to rely on any of the same enzymes to make psilocybin Psilocybe It’s the mushrooms that do this, and the chain of chemical events that lead to the formation of psilocybin is completely different in both. The only thing they seem to have in common is the use of a certain chemical in an intermediate step of the process.

“I never expected that these two psilocybin pathways would not share any interaction,” said study co-author Dirk Hofmeister, a biochemist at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany. He said Science Magazine.

More questions to answer

As is often the case in science, this kind of unexpected result creates a lot of interesting questions to answer.

Convergent evolution tends to occur when different life forms evolve similar traits in order to take advantage of a similar place or environment. For example, bats, insects, and birds likely evolved wings for many of the same reasons as each other. But for this mushroom, the picture is complicated by the fact that it fills completely different niches. Psilocybe Mushrooms feed on decaying organic matter (and sometimes poop), while mushrooms feed on decaying organic matter (and sometimes poop). Inocip Mushrooms form symbiotic relationships with trees. In the end, we’re still not sure why any mushroom produces psilocybin at all One of the leading theories Is that the compound has a protective effect, repelling unwanted insects.

The researchers hope that their findings will motivate more scientists to delve deeper into these fungal mysteries.

“like Inocip and Psilocybe “Mushrooms follow different lifestyles,” they wrote in the study. “Our work may help ecologists determine the selection pressure and real reason behind the emergence of one of the most famous natural products and why it appeared independently.”