Carnivorous Plants: Trapping, Digesting and Absorbing All in One
نویسنده
چکیده
The Venus flytrap digests and absorbs its prey, but how does it coordinate digestion and absorption to maximise the efficiency of this highly evolved mechanism? A new study that combines direct recordings from cells within the trap along with molecular characterization of nutrient transport reveals a complex and coordinated suite of mechanisms that underlie this elegant process.
منابع مشابه
Four New Species of Nepenthes L. (Nepenthaceae) from the Central Mountains of Mindanao, Philippines
Together with the islands of Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia), the Philippines are the main center of diversity for carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus, Nepenthes L. Nepenthes are the largest of all carnivorous plants, and the species with the biggest pitchers are capable of trapping and digesting small amphibians and even mammals. The central cordillera of Mindanao Isla...
متن کاملEnergetics and the evolution of carnivorous plants--Darwin's 'most wonderful plants in the world'.
Carnivory has evolved independently at least six times in five angiosperm orders. In spite of these independent origins, there is a remarkable morphological convergence of carnivorous plant traps and physiological convergence of mechanisms for digesting and assimilating prey. These convergent traits have made carnivorous plants model systems for addressing questions in plant molecular genetics,...
متن کاملFunctional characterization of a class III acid endochitinase from the traps of the carnivorous pitcher plant genus, Nepenthes
Carnivory in plants is an adaptation strategy to nutrient-poor environments and soils. Carnivorous plants obtain some additional mineral nutrients by trapping and digesting prey; the genus Nepenthes is helped by its specialized pitcher traps. To make the nutrients available, the caught prey needs to be digested, a process that requires the concerted activity of several hydrolytic enzymes. To id...
متن کاملA Viscoelastic Deadly Fluid in Carnivorous Pitcher Plants
BACKGROUND The carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes, widely distributed in the Asian tropics, rely mostly on nutrients derived from arthropods trapped in their pitcher-shaped leaves and digested by their enzymatic fluid. The genus exhibits a great diversity of prey and pitcher forms and its mechanism of trapping has long intrigued scientists. The slippery inner surfaces of the pitchers, wh...
متن کاملHow to catch more prey with less effective traps: explaining the evolution of temporarily inactive traps in carnivorous pitcher plants
Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants capture arthropods with specialized slippery surfaces. The key trapping surface, the pitcher rim (peristome), is highly slippery when wetted by rain, nectar or condensation, but not when dry. As natural selection should favour adaptations that maximize prey intake, the evolution of temporarily inactive traps seems paradoxical. Here, we show that intermittent...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Current Biology
دوره 23 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2013