Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have modified tobacco plants to produce five powerful psychedelic compounds typically found in mushrooms, plants, and toads. The technique uses temporary genetic changes to create a sustainable source for research and potential medicines. Experts say this could simplify production compared to chemical synthesis or harvesting from nature.
Asaph Aharoni and his colleagues at the Weizmann Institute used agroinfiltration on Nicotiana benthamiana plants. This method employs a bacterium to introduce nine genes from other organisms, enabling the plants to produce psilocin and psilocybin from mushrooms, DMT from various plants, and bufotenin and 5-methoxy-DMT from the Colorado river toad, Incilius alvarius. The changes are short-lived, as the foreign DNA does not integrate into the plant's genome. Aharoni noted that permanent, inheritable modifications are possible but challenging due to the compounds' recreational use. “It’s a little bit tricky if we have it inherited, and then people will ask for seeds,” he said. He added that the approach could extend to crops like tomato, potato, or corn. The researchers argue that plant-based production in greenhouses would be simpler and more sustainable than chemical synthesis or collecting from threatened natural sources amid growing medical interest in psychedelics. Plant-derived drugs, known as pharming, have precedents: the US approved plant-produced proteins in 2012, maize was modified for pharmaceuticals in 2002, and tobacco plants synthesized cocaine in 2022 at about 400 nanograms per milligram of dried leaf. Rupert Fray at the University of Nottingham in the UK called it a technical accomplishment. Around 25 percent of prescription drugs derive from plants, he said, highlighting opportunities for “green factories.” “If you want to understand something, you’ve got to be able to build something, so showing that you can make it in tobacco plants is useful,” Fray said. The findings appear in Science Advances.
