Magic Mushrooms Have Over 80 Different Species—And Their DNA Is Now Available Online

A growing interest in psychedelics and their therapeutic potential is bringing technologies. Now, everyone can access Psilocydia, the world’s first psilocybin genomic library.

What Happened: The site is managed by Medicinal Genomics Corp. and houses over 80 fully sequenced psilocybe genomes. According to the company, Psilocydia has been built with expansion in mind, with the goal to accommodate “development and long-term sustainability as the industry matures.”

Like its sister site Kannapedia, Psilocydia is publicly available for everyone that wishes to know the genomic information of psychedelic mushrooms.

Why It's Important: Mike Catalano, head of genomic services for MGC, said he expects that the new service will be to psilocybin cultivators what Kannapedia 2.0 is to cannabis cultivators.

“Psilocydia establishes a dynamic genomic library that will benefit this important and growing industry for years to come. Our powerful sequencing and genomic services in conjunction with Psilocydia will make it easier than ever to discover genetic traits, identify genes of interest, and perhaps most importantly, give customers conclusive proof to differentiate beneficial strains from poisonous ones, which look remarkably similar,” he explained.

Over 42 million bases of the P. cubensis psychedelic mushroom genome were sequenced to fully cover all genes, as well as non-coding regions of the DNA. The information in the database includes high-impact variants found in genes of interest such as Psilocybin and Psilocin synthase (PsiM, PsiH, PsiD & PsiK genes); tables comparing samples to other strains in the Psilocydia database; Blockchain Digital Stamping Certificates showing that strain's genetics were submitted to the DASH blockchain, and microbiome analysis to better understand common contaminants that may impact mushrooms. 

The Last Word: Brendan McKernan, Medicinal Genomics' CEO, commented: “We began offering these capabilities to the cannabis community when we sequenced the first cannabis genome, a decade ago. Since then, we have shown over and over again the benefits this information can provide. We believe the timing is perfect for introducing this capability to the psychedelic mushroom market, and we look forward to the many advances it will enable.”

Photo: Courtesy of Marco Allegretti on Unsplash.