Provided herein are microorganisms for producing substituted tryptamines and cell cultures thereof, the microorganisms comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid molecule that encodes at least one substituted tryptamine biosynthetic pathway enzyme.

Modified cells suitable for the production of ergot alkaloids include engineered recombinant cells having one or more genes that code for one or more enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway from tryptophan to D-lysergic acid (DLA). Methods of culturing the engineered recombinant cells can be used for the production of DLA and other ergot alkaloids.