High-Quality Genome Assembly and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveal Potential Pathways for Psilocybin Biosynthesis in Gymnopilus dilepis

Abstract

Psilocybin has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. It is evident that G. dilepis possesses the capacity to produce psilocybin. Therefore, conducting in-depth research into this species will contribute to the understanding of the biosynthetic mechanisms of psilocybin and provide a more comprehensive insight into its biosynthesis. We have assembled the G. dilepis genome at the chromosomal level. G. dilepis is characterized by a chromosome number of 13, a genome size of 54.2 Mb, and a total of 15,211 predicted genes and 16,411,190 transposable elements. The evolutionary analysis suggests that G. dilepis can produce psilocybin due to its close relationship with the Psilocybe genus of mushrooms. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed that the biosynthesis of psilocybin is associated with several amino acid metabolic pathways, particularly those involving cysteine and methionine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism. These pathways may supply the precursor substances required for psilocybin biosynthesis. This study presents a high-quality genome assembly for G. dilepis and reveals a close relationship between amino acid metabolism and psilocybin biosynthesis, providing a theoretical basis for exploring the genetic relationships in G. dilepis and the genes that regulate the biosynthesis of psilocybin.