Sequencing the Vine of the Soul: Full Chloroplast Genome Sequence of Banisteriopsis caapi

Banisteriopsis caapi is one of 82 species of Banisteriopsis in the Malpighiaceae family. It is a woody liana native to South America that has been used for centuries by a wide range of indigenous groups throughout the Amazon River basin (Shipibo, Bora, Witoto, Yagua, and many others) to facilitate what can be described as a Ph.D. of shamanic education (1). The vine, also known as caapi, yagé, and vine of the soul, is chopped into pieces and boiled with other plant species (recipes vary from shaman to shaman and region to region), often including one or more of the following: Psychotria viridis, Psychotria carthagenensis, Brugmansia suaveolens, Nicotiana tabacum, Malouetia tamarquina, Tabernaemontana spp., Brunfelsia, spp., Datura suaveolens, Iochroma fuchsioides, Juanulloa spp., etc. The resulting beverage, known as ayahuasca, is used in ceremonies to diagnose and treat illness, meet with spirits, and divine the future (2). The healing approach is described as telepathic or transcendent, connecting healer and patient to plant and spirit medicines for restoring health and well-being.

The use of ayahuasca has spread outside South America to the United States, Europe, and many other locations, where it is used in religious, spiritual, and recreational events. Ayahuasca preparations have been proposed as a treatment for drug addiction (2). Major components reported in B. caapi are β-carboline alkaloid derivatives. The concentration of alkaloids depends on the origin and part of the plant used, but harmaline, tetrahydroharmine, harmol, harminic acid methyl ester, harminic acid, acetyl-norharmine, N-norharmine, N-oxyharmine, harmalinic acid, and ketotetrahydronorharmine are reported constituents of the stems. These compounds can act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), which inhibit neurotransmitters, such as tryptamine, allowing N-N-dimethyltryptamine found in Psychotria viridis to cause psychoactive effects (3).

Safety data for the use of ayahuasca are scarce. Reported adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, and moderate cardiovascular effects, such as alterations in blood pressure and heart rate, alterations in alertness, hallucinations, and anxiety. With increased unprofessionally supervised use of ayahuasca, the need to understand and correctly identify Banisteriopsis caapi and other species included in the mix has critical importance to public health.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed a repository of complete chloroplast genome sequences called GenomeTrakrCP. Target species for inclusion are plants found in foods and dietary supplements, toxin producers, common contaminants, and adulterants and their close relatives (3). Banisteriopsis caapi was identified for inclusion in this database, and specimens were obtained from the U.S. Botanic Garden (accession number 1989-0298) and sequenced and annotated using previously described methods (4, 5).

A reference-guided assembly was performed using NOVOPlasty 2.6.2, and the annotation was performed using the chloroplast genome of Jatropha curcas (GenBank accession number FJ695500). The B. caapi chloroplast genome contains 158,473 bp, with a G+C content of 36.8%. B. caapi inverted repeats (IRs) are separated by large single-copy (LSC) and small single-copy (SSC) regions with sizes of 83,602 bp and 18,171 bp, respectively. A total of 126 genes with 80 coding sequences, 36 tRNA genes, and 8 unique rRNA sequences were described.

This genome announcement is dedicated to James Alan Duke (1929 to 2017) in celebration of a brilliant life’s work focused on the study of medicinal plants from every continent, but especially South America (1).