Scientists engineer a plant to biosynthesize ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, and toad psychedelics in one organism

Engineered plants are being used as living chemical factories to produce multiple psychedelic compounds in one organism. The claim centers on combining pathways associated with ayahuasca-type effects, psilocybin ("shrooms"), and bufotenine-like toad psychedelics so that a single plant could, in theory, generate a broader psychedelic spectrum. The reporting frames this as a major biotechnology step with obvious implications for access, reproducibility, and cultivation, while also raising safety concerns around potency, dosing, and unintentional misuse when psychoactive molecules can be produced outside traditional contexts.