Ergot Alkaloids and their Hallucinogenic Potential in Morning Glories
Planta Medica March 2, 2018 Ulrike Steiner, Eckhard Leistner 28 citations
Ergot alkaloids from Central American morning glory species (Turbina corymbosa, Ipomoea violacea, Ipomoea asarifolia) are produced by fungi of the newly described genus Periglandula, which colonize peltate glandular trichomes on the leaves. These fungi cannot yet be cultured in vitro but synthesize ergot alkaloids that are translocated into the plant host. The symbiosis benefits both partners. Evolutionarily, the alkaloid gene cluster in this symbiosis likely has a conserved basic structure, whereas clusters in Claviceps and Epichloe fungi underwent ecological selection for alkaloid diversification.