Ayahuasca plant genomes reveal retrotransposon-derived centromeres and contrasting routes to DMT and β-carbolines
Ruiyi Qiu, Scott Galeung Alexander Mann, Thiago Nascimento, Jacob Owen Perley, Matthew Bailey Richardson, Daniel Andre Ramey Deschenes, Mirza Bezerra, Arielen Barreto de Carvalho Alves, Anderson Ortiz Alves, Juliana Schietti, Charles R. Clement, John T. Lovell, Victor A. Albert, Gustavo Souza, Cicero Almeida, Yang Qu, Andre Marques
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Genomic and biochemical study |
|---|---|
| Population | Psychotria viridis and Banisteriopsis caapi plants, including traditionally recognized cultivated varieties |
| Topics | Ayahuasca DMT |
| Key points | The authors report that P. viridis is hexaploid (2n = 6x = 66), consistent with autopolyploidy, and B. caapi is diploid (2n = 2x = 20), and that CENH3-bound regions of both are enriched in CRM-type Ty3/Gypsy retrotransposons. They identify a single multifunctional methyltransferase in P. viridis that catalyzes both N-methylations of tryptamine to DMT, and describe B. caapi beta-carboline biosynthesis as combining dedicated enzymes with an acetaldehyde-dependent Pictet-Spengler cyclization that can proceed non-enzymatically, followed by enantioselective oxidation to harmaline. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca, used religiously for centuries by Amazonian Indigenous peoples and increasingly studied for its therapeutic potential, owes its psychoactivity to two plants: Psychotria viridis supplies N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), whereas Banisteriopsis caapi supplies beta-carbolines that render DMT orally active. Here we show that the two plants have distinct genome histories: P. viridis is hexaploid (2n = 6x = 66), consistent with autopolyploidy, and B. caapi is diploid (2n = 2x = 20). CENH3-bound regions of both species are nonetheless enriched in CRM-type Ty3/Gypsy retrotransposons, with additional LINE elements and CRM-derived satellites in B. caapi. In P. viridis, a single multifunctional methyltransferase catalyzes both N-methylations of tryptamine to DMT. In B. caapi, beta-carboline biosynthesis combines dedicated enzymes with an acetaldehyde-dependent Pictet-Spengler cyclization that can proceed non-enzymatically, followed by enantioselective oxidation to harmaline. These resources link the ethnobotanical history of ayahuasca to its molecular basis, providing genomes of both source plants, the genetic structure of traditionally recognized cultivated varieties, and the enzymes behind the alkaloids long combined in this decoction.