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Results for “Droseraceae”

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PubMed1990

Oxidative protein modification as predigestive mechanism of the carnivorous plant Dionaea muscipula: an hypothesis based on in vitro experiments.

Aqueous leaf extracts from Dionaea muscipula contain quinones such as the naphthoquinone plumbagin that couple to different NADH-dependent diaphorases, producing superoxide and hydrogen peroxide upon autoxidation. Upon preincubation of Dionaea extracts with certain diaphorases and NADH in the presence of serumalbumin (SA), subsequent tryptic digestion of SA is facilitated. Since the secretroy glands of Droseracea contain proteases and possibly other degradative enzymes it is suggested that the presence of oxygen-activating redox cofactors in the extracts function as extracellular predigestive oxidants which render membrane-bound proteins of the prey (insects) more susceptible to proteolytic attacks.

Animals↗

PubMed2025

Venus flytraps' metabolome analysis discloses the metabolic fate of prey animal foodstock.

Carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula survive in nutrient-poor habitats by attracting and consuming animals. Upon deflection of the touch-sensitive trigger hairs, the trap closes instantly. Panicking prey repeatedly collides with trigger hairs, which activate the endocrine system: mechano- and chemosensors translate the information on the prey's nature, size, and activity into jasmonate-dependent lytic enzyme secretion. This digestive fluid gradually degrades its exoskeleton and internal tissues. The released substances are absorbed by glands covering the inner trap surface. To understand Dionaea's modification of metabolism upon prey consumption, we compared the metabolic profiles associated with secretion and insect feeding. In favor of digestive enzyme secretion, the abundance of most amino acids decreased after JA-stimulation without prey present. By contrast, insect feeding resulted in an increase in almost all amino acids within the trap. In agreement with the export of prey-derived nitrogen, the abundance of certain amino acids also increased in the petiole. In response to feeding with urea, chitin, nucleic acids, or phospholipids, the amino acid profile remained relatively unchanged. This might indicate that the alterations in the Venus flytrap's metabolism depend both on the type of substance and on its amount.

Droseraceae↗

PubMed2024

Comparative transcriptomics of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) across stages of prey capture and digestion.

The Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is perhaps the world's best-known botanical carnivore. The act of prey capture and digestion along with its rapidly closing, charismatic traps make this species a compelling model for studying the evolution and fundamental biology of carnivorous plants. There is a growing body of research on the genome, transcriptome, and digestome of Dionaea muscipula, but surprisingly limited information on changes in trap transcript abundance over time since feeding. Here we present the results of a comparative transcriptomics project exploring the transcriptomic changes across seven timepoints in a 72-hour time series of prey digestion and three timepoints directly comparing triggered traps with and without prey items. We document a dynamic response to prey capture including changes in abundance of transcripts with Gene Ontology (GO) annotations related to digestion and nutrient uptake. Comparisons of traps with and without prey documented 174 significantly differentially expressed genes at 1 hour after triggering and 151 genes with significantly different abundances at 24 hours. Approximately 50% of annotated protein-coding genes in Venus flytrap genome exhibit change (10041 of 21135) in transcript abundance following prey capture. Whereas peak abundance for most of these genes was observed within 3 hours, an expression cluster of 3009 genes exhibited continuously increasing abundance over the 72-hour sampling period, and transcript for these genes with GO annotation terms including both catabolism and nutrient transport may continue to accumulate beyond 72 hours.

Droseraceae↗