Q: Did you know that there are similarities among different races of plants, people, and all living things despite the variation inherent in chromosome replication (breeding)?
A: Obviously. Look at skin color, eye color, hair color, breast size. Whatever it is, there's a genetic correlation.
Q: Do you know how organisms are created? Do you know what a clone is? This will help you understand genetics.
A: Think back to Jurassic Park. If you can look at all the coding regions of a genome (DNA), then, in effect, you could recreate the organism. The process of breeding makes this easy, since genetics from 2 parents combine to form offspring.
Q: Did you know that we can find our closest relatives through investigation of our DNA (mtDNA)?
A: Yes, we can trace your mitochondrial DNA all the way back to the genetic "Eve," or first mother. In effect, this means that there are similarities among our chromosomes that allow us to find a common ancestor.
Okay, now that you know this, let's look at some interesting facts about fungi genetics.
1. The fungi probably colonized the land during the Cambrian Period (542–488.3 Million years ago), long before land plants.
2. The major phyla (sometimes called divisions) of fungi have been classified mainly on the basis of characteristics of their sexual reproductive structures.
3. The use of DNA sequencing technologies and phylogenetic analysis has provided new insights into fungal relationships and biodiversity, and has challenged traditional morphology-based groupings in fungal taxonomy.
Let's look at what genetics are.
Organisms inherit traits via discrete units of inheritance called "genes." Genes hold the information to build and maintain an organism's cells and pass genetic traits to offspring.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit.
DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for creating a new partner strand—this is the physical method for making copies of genes that can be inherited.
The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins—the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene.
This relationship between nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence is known as the genetic code.
The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live.
A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein's amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole.
Tying it all together:
Mushrooms predate pangaea, wherein the world was one large continent. Mushrooms evolved separately over eons to create and maintain distinct genomes. These genomes give rise to coding genes that make mushrooms what they are.
The major active "ingredients" in cubensis mushrooms are:
* Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine)
* Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine)
* Baeocystin (4-phosphoryloxy-N-methyltryptamine)
* Norbaeocystin (4-phosphoryloxytryptamine)
Many of you on this forum know that 2ci is not the same as 2cb. Well, the molecular difference between the two is just a switch of bromine for iodine at one position on the molecule.
Here's another example... Testosterone versus Nandralone. Can you tell me the difference between these two molecules?
One gives you male characteristics, the other gives you impotence. There's only a switch of a methyl group for a hydrogen.
Further, I invite you to characterize (identify) all active ingredients in a mushroom via HPLC, IR, C/H-NMR. To my knowledge, the complete chemical composition of Psilocybe cubensis hasn't even been deciphered, or published academically, yet. If it has, then please, by all means, tell me how many different compounds are present.
Here's what you would need to do to prove that "a cube is a cube."
1. Successfully identify all chemical compounds within each "strain" of cubensis
2. Trace each strain's chemical compounds back to the genes that coded for them
3. Show that each strain of cubensis contains the same genes
Here's why you can't do that:
Chemical composition directly correlates to genetics that directly correlates to heredity. In other words, since there are different genetics, there are different chemicals. No one can tell me that there aren't different genetics involved in the different strains.
My point is that there are many different chemicals in many different concentrations that give rise to the experience of a "mushroom trip." Even the slightest variation among the chemicals can create vastly different experiences. The chemical compositions of mushrooms are based on heredity, as are their physical appearances.
Quit spouting "a cube is a cube," please.
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/13544288#13544288
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
