A set of SNPs and Indels in the psilocybin biosynthetic pathway cluster: candidates markers for chemotypic expression in two species of Psilocybe mushrooms
Renewed interested in the application of psychotropic compounds to mental health and societal issues has let to the revival of psychedelic research. While groups are racing to patent composition or processes, having proper traceability tools and an understanding of chemotypic expression will be paramount to regulated supply of psychedelics. Two species of psychotropic mushroom from the Psilocybe genus, P. cubensis and P. cyanescens are known to express different ratios of prodrugs psilocybin and baeocystin, making them suitable to different application, where P. cyanescans may be considered more potent and rather suited to recreational use and P. cubensis may be better suited to medical application, in the treatment of clinical depression for example. Here, we use data available from the public domain public domain to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), insertion and deletions in the psilocybin biosynthetic pathway gene cluster. We identify 91 SNPs, 16 insertions and 9 deletions, including 9 SNPs and one major deletion upstream of the methyltransferase PsiM which may be associated with the chemotypic expession in P. cubensis and P. cyanescens, particularly the higher accumulation of baeocystin and psilocybin in P. cyanescens.
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