Engineered tobacco plant can produce five psychedelics, including psilocybin and DMT

Amazing stuff! What are you smoking? What's growing in your flower pot or garden? 😊

"... The new study focused on engineering plants to produce five major natural psychedelics: DMT, psilocin, psilocybin, bufotenin, and 5-MeO-DMT. They first had to identify and characterize the key biosynthetic enzymes from certain plants, fungi, and the Sonoran Desert toad and combine enzymes from different species to reconstruct entire biosynthetic pathways. They then used genetic engineering to introduce these enzymes into a type of tobacco plant (Nicotiana benthamiana), which was chosen because it is easily cultivated and produces tryptophan.

After the genes required for production of the compounds were identified, they were introduced to the plant by a process called agroinfiltration, where plant leaves are injected with a suspension of bacterium to induce the expression of genes. The team used AlphaFold3, an AI model that predicts 3D structures and interactions of molecules, to guide their design of a mutant protein that substantially enhanced indolethylamine production by improving efficiency of the enzymes needed to produce it. ..."

Engineered tobacco plant can produce five psychedelics, including psilocybin and DMT

Trippy tobacco? Plants engineered to make five psychedelics at once

Complete biosynthesis of psychedelic tryptamines from three kingdoms in plants (open access)

Fig. 5. Metabolic engineering strategy for complete reconstruction of psychedelic indolethylamine biosynthetic pathways in N. benthamiana.