The idea may sound strange: a tobacco plant producing compounds like psilocybin or DMT. Sounds strange, right? You’ve probably never heard of it. But beyond the initial shock, what’s happening in the labs is less about “blending worlds” and more about something much deeper: changing the way these substances are produced and, eventually, the way they’re accessed.
A new study has succeeded in genetically modifying tobacco plants to produce several psychedelic compounds simultaneously. Specifically, researchers enabled them to produce five compounds: DMT, psilocin, psilocybin, bufotenin, and 5-MeO-DMT, all of which belong to the family of psychedelic tryptamines.
This is not an experiment meant for consumption, but rather a proof of concept that raises larger questions: what happens when these molecules are no longer dependent on natural sources?
To achieve this, the team reconstructed complete biosynthetic pathways in the plant using enzymes from different organisms, integrating multiple genes that allow natural precursors to be transformed into these complex molecules.
From Mushrooms to Biotechnology: Same Molecule, Different Origin
For decades, psychedelics such as psilocybin and DMT were associated with their natural sources: mushrooms, plants, and animal secretions. That connection is not only chemical: it’s also cultural. It involves ritual, territory, and tradition.
But from a scientific standpoint, there is one key point: the molecule is the same. This means that whether it comes from a mushroom, a laboratory synthesis, or now a modified plant, if the molecule is the same and properly isolated, its pharmacological properties do not depend on its origin, but on its chemical structure.
That’s where we start talking about biotechnology. Using plants as “living factories” allows compounds to be produced in a more controlled and potentially more cost-effective way, without relying on specific harvests or fragile ecosystems.
This isn’t the first time …
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Author: Camila Berriex / High Times
