Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Environmental Science Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: meyer.1556@osu.edu.
2 papers in the library · 32 citations · publishing 2014-2023
Fungi produce diverse metabolites, including psilocybin and related tryptamine-derived compounds called psiloids, which have antimicrobial, antifungal, antifeedant, or psychoactive properties. The high nitrogen allocation to psiloids in mushrooms, along with convergent evolution and horizontal gene transfer, suggests a selective benefit, but no precise ecological roles have been experimentally determined. Structural and functional similarities of psiloids to serotonin, an essential neurotransmitter in animals, indicate they may enhance fungal fitness through interference with serotonergic processes, though other mechanisms have been proposed. This review examines literature on psilocybin ecology and proposes potential adaptive advantages psiloids may confer to fungi.
The Kuntanawa, a tribe of the Pano linguistic branch in Brazil's Acre state, were thought extinct by the early 1900s due to rubber production. By the 2000s, descendants of a Kuntanawa woman, previously identified as mestizo rubber tappers, began a process of ethnic self-recognition and territorial struggle. Ritualized ayahuasca use is central to this cultural reinvention, acting as a subjectivity operator and ethnic identifier in interethnic relations. The text offers ethnographic and theoretical reflections on ethnicity and culture.