We are about to sequence the genomes of 6 haploid cultures collected from a population of Psilocybe subaeruginosa in Queensland. It will be nice to have some data in hand and we can compare our genomes to those available for P. cyanescens to test whether these taxa are con-specific (the same species).
The haploid cultures have some interesting phenotypes (fast smooth growth, slow and patchy growth, fast radial growth). Knowledge of these phenotypes may one day help with crossing different haploid cultures to tailor genetics. Expect an update when we get sequence data back from AGRF :) Looking forward to the rains to expand sampling of P. cubensis in the next few months.
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We have the following aims.
1. To determine which mushrooms are native to Australia We will sample widely from populations of P. subaeruginosa in Australia to answer whether populations are structured by geography or substrate. We hypothesise P. subaeruginosa is native to Australia and will have relatively high genetic diversity across sampled populations. If P. subaeruginosa is endemic to Australia, there may be flow-on impacts for patents and commercialisation under the Queensland Biodiscovery Act (2006). We expect introduced taxa to have less genetic diversity than native species. For example, invasive fungi that are dikaryotic/diploid (have two copies of a genome, one chromosome inherited from each parent), will have a maximum of two alleles at one locus (heterozygous) if there has been one introduction. More diversity means more introductions (or high diversity from one introduction), but we expect it to be much lower when compared to a native taxon. For example, we may expect P. cubensis to have 3–5 alleles at a locus, compared to P. subaeruginosa that may have many more! 2. To determine how many species occur in Australia In studying populations of P. subaeruginosa, we will resolve the biodiversity of this taxon, specifically whether there are multiple species in the complex. 3. To determine if there is variability in the gene cluster that produces psilocybin across the sampled diversity of P. subaeruginosa Different mushrooms have different effects on people, for example, someone who dabbles in shamanism may tell you that the experience on blue meanies is different to the experience on gold tops. Is this variation genetic? If yes, will crossing a collection of P. subaeruginosa from Tasmania with one from Queensland have an impact on the ratio or action of psilocybin? We expect greatest genetic diversity in the centre of origin of a taxon, and maybe the therapeutic world will benefit from advances in the genetics of psilocybin production. 4. An outcome of our study is to start the first living, culture collection of Psilocybe to safeguard against habitat loss and as a platform for future research A spore print will be made from every mushroom used in the study, and 5–6 cultures will be made from basidiospores (which have one copy of a genome (haploid)). We will phenotype these cultures for growth rate and, potentially, ability to produce psilocybin. The genome of every culture will be sequenced and from there we can determine mating type, versatility of psilocybin production and any other phenotype we can link to a gene. The cultures get stored in a Herbarium (the largest culture collection in Australia) and if anyone ever commercialises a fungus from the collection, they have to enter a benefit sharing agreement with the original land owner, collector or Queensland Government (if collected in Queensland). Background on Psilocybe subaeruginosa
Our 'flying saucer' mushroom in Australia, Psilocybe subaeruginosa, was described in 1927 by John Burton Cleland. The specimens studied by Cleland were collected from grass or decaying wood in national parks of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales (there is a link to JB's original description at this site). Presumably JB didn't know this was a hallucinogenic mushroom at the time, and the properties of psilocybin were not published by Hoffman until 1958. Other (non-Australian) mycologists considered there was more biodiversity and described Psilocybe australiana, P. eucalypta and P. tasmaniana in 1978. Non-Australian mycologists have had tremendous impact on the taxonomy of Psilocybe and the community owes much to the passion of Gaston Guzman and Roy Watling (if you're a Brisbane local I recommend reading Watling's account of gold tops growing in Indooroopilly). The key take home from all that is P. subaeruginosa and related taxa (whether they are more than one species or not) occur in natural areas of Australia, are diverse and were described nearly 100 years ago. A species of Psilocybe, P. cyanescens, has become prolific in the northern hemisphere (Europe and the United States). It grows in wood chips in non-natural areas. It was first described from Kew Botanic Gardens in 1946 (link to the original description here). This mushroom, along with P. cubensis, have become the standards for research on psilocybin and are the basis for many patents on extraction, production and therapeutic use of psilocybin (check out a list of psilocybin patents here). Our hypothesis is that P. subaeruginosa and P. cyanescens are the same species, and that Australia is the likely centre of origin of this taxon. This is based on their years of description (keep in mind that Australian mycology lags behind the northern hemisphere), the habitat of these mushrooms (natural areas of Australia, non-natural areas northern hemisphere) and their near-identical sequences of a barcoding locus of DNA. At some point before 1946, soil or wood chips from Australia may have been transported to Kew or botanic gardens globally, and inadvertently spread P. subaeruginosa, spawning its success as an invasive fungus. Background on Psilocybe cubensis Speaking of prolific mushrooms... gold tops are widespread along the east coast of Australia. They grow out of cow manure as far up as the Daintree (or this is where I've collected them in northern Queensland, they could be even further north). How did they get to Australia and become so successful in this niche? One hypothesis is they are native here, perhaps once dung fungi of Diprotodons that wandered the landscape. This does not seem likely. Gaston Guzman treated P. cubensis as a native of Central America, and he noticed similarities in the morphology of species of Psilocybe in different geographic areas, Our hypothesis is they were introduced to Australia. It will be fascinating to know how many times and whether one introduction is the source of their proliferation along the east coast. Spores of P. cubensis are shared internationally, perhaps more genetic diversity has escaped into Australia from enthusiasts who have released spores. Does all this reasoning make you yearn for answers? Are flying saucer mushrooms endemic to Australia, and just how many species do we have? Are gold tops native to Australia, if not, how many times have they 'escaped'? If mushrooms have been present in Australia longer than humans, is there a chance people have known about their properties here since before 1958 (when Hoffman described psilocybin)? Welcome to my world if you want to know the answers to these questions :) I think I'm one of the right and lucky people in time and space to be working on Psilocybe in Australia.
Lucky in time because we're on the cusp of unlocking and harnessing the potential clinical uses of psilocybin and the stigma associated with magic mushrooms is being replaced with a public curiosity. Lucky in space because we are just starting to scratch the surface of the biodiversity of fungi in Australia and there are enormous gains in knowledge needed about whether our native mushrooms/fungi are toxic, edible or have medicinal uses. I might be the right person to work on magic mushrooms because I've studied fungal genetics and evolution for the last 15 years. I've been lucky to have training from world leaders in the United States, South Africa, Europe and Australia. The knowledge I've gained working on species of Basidiomycota will be put to good use on mushrooms, and I'm a one trick pony, so it would be wasted on any other endeavour. I can't believe it's taken me this long to move from agricultural pathogens (studying fungi as the culprit) to now studying the beneficial side of fungi. Mushrooms are one of the most nutritious, sustainable and ethical sources of food. They can be grown on recycled material and in urban areas. We need more research on mushrooms in Australia, but we do not have a critical mass of people working on fungi. A question that kept me awake at night was why psilocybin evolved to have the effect it does on humans. The genetic pathway (a cluster of five genes) is hypothesised to be >24 million years old. Every ancestor of extant mammals was alive at this point in time, but humans were a long way off. Gosh, I'd love to know where the 'magic' in magic mushrooms came from, and whether it is just luck (in time and space) that they have such a beneficial impact on our mental health 25 million years (or more) later... |
Designer Shrooms @ Funky Fungus on 1st July 2023
I started a gig at Funky Fungus as Chief Scientific Officer to make designer shrooms Our research on Psilocybe
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