The complete organellar genomes of the entheogenic plant Psychotria viridis (Rubiaceae), a main component of the ayahuasca brew.
PeerJ January 1, 2022 Alessandro M Varani, Saura R Silva, Simone Lopes et al. 7 citations
The chloroplast genome of Psychotria viridis, a shrub used in the traditional ayahuasca brew, is 154,106 base pairs long and contains the full set of genes typical of flowering plants. Its mitochondrial genome has a complex structure with at least two alternative circular forms, one 615,370 and the other 570,344 base pairs, and shows evidence of heteroplasmy—the presence of multiple mitochondrial genome variants within an individual. Most mitochondrial genes are present, but several are pseudogenes or missing entirely. Comparative analysis of chloroplast genomes across the Rubiaceae family reveals generally conserved structures with minor variations at junction regions. These findings provide foundational genomic resources for this species and may support conservation efforts.