What is the evolutionary driver that makes magic mushrooms hallucinogenic?
June 18th, 2010
El Penfold asked:
It`s hard to imagine how the mushroom mycelium benefits from the deal. If it was supposed to discourage animals from eating the mushrooms then it has been a dismal failure. Come on Richard Dawkins leave that flashing pink crocodile alone and explain the evolution of magic mushrooms.
It`s hard to imagine how the mushroom mycelium benefits from the deal. If it was supposed to discourage animals from eating the mushrooms then it has been a dismal failure. Come on Richard Dawkins leave that flashing pink crocodile alone and explain the evolution of magic mushrooms.
June 21st, 2010 at 12:45 am
shooting from the hip, I’d say cowshit.
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:44 am
In the absence of Richard Dawkins, I’ll try -
You appear making the mistake of believing that the presence of hallucinogenic chemicals found in magic mushrooms has to be explained (in terms of an evolutionary pressure of selection) by their effect on humans or that the ‘purpose’ of the chemical(s) are to discourage animals from eating the plant.
This is to miss the point that the effect on humans is simply a by-product of the chemicals presence. To understand what preferential selection pressure there may have been that led to this chemical, you would need to look at the biochemical function, pathways, alternate pathways in related organisms and much more.
But, because of this hallucinogenic side-effect, there will in future, presumably, be a preferential selection pressure when growers use the same techniques farmers have used to improve all our domesticated crops.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:54 am
As an ex-evolutionary lick-spittle reject I have no idea…. But here’s something uninteresting, my body has evolved to reject any nonhallucinogenic source of nourishment. And when I say “reject”, I mean violently….Sometimes the small splatters fly as far as 12 feet (against the wind if aimed correctly). Now as far as pink flashing crocs, that is just ridiculous. To suggest that a crocodile is a trench coat wearing communist, I can’t believe you haven’t been arrested by Y!SillyPatrol yet…
June 25th, 2010 at 10:28 am
It’s a defense mechanism. Who knew that a species would come along that would actually enjoy poisoning itself?