Darwin Day Livestream: Adventures with Psilocybin-Producing Mushrooms
Adventures with Psilocybin-Producing Mushrooms: New Insights on their Evolution and Diversity
Bryn Dentinger, Natural History Museum of Utah & School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah
Psilocybin is the major alkaloid found in most psychoactive mushrooms and holds great promise as a therapy for a range of mental illnesses. New genomic data has provided insights into the evolution of the genetic machinery that produces this powerful medicine, including patterns of horizontal gene transfer and convergence. Our lab has generated new genomes from over 100 species of psilocybin-producing mushrooms, most from type specimens of the core psilocybin-producing genus Psilocybe. Together with new data on the chemical composition of Psilocybe and the stability of metabolites in preserved specimens, I will present an overview of Psilocybe diversity, phylogeny, biogeography, chemistry, and evolution of the genes responsible for psilocybin biosynthesis.
About Our Speaker
Bryn grew up in Duluth, MN where he developed a passion for mushroom foraging as a teenager. He received his B.A. from Macalester College where he studied the neuropharmacology of a psychoactive mint (Salvia divinorum) for his honors thesis. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2007 where he studied the systematics and evolution of porcini and clavarioid mushrooms. After a postdoc in Toronto and Eugene, OR, Bryn took a position at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London, UK where he became Head of Mycology. In 2016, Bryn relocated to Utah and currently holds a joint position as Curator of Mycology at the Natural History Museum of Utah and Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah.