What makes the fly agaric fly? Amanita muscaria is well‐known for its toxicity caused by the psychoactive metabolites ibotenic acid and muscimol. Here, the biosynthetic genes responsible for the production of these metabolites are identified and it is shown that the biosynthetic pathway begins with a dedicated, stereoselective glutamate hydroxylase. These are the first results concerning the biosynthesis of ibotenic acid and muscimol in over 50 years.
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