A carnivorous sundew plant prefers protein over chitin as a source of nitrogen from its traps

Pavlovič, Andrej; Krausko, Miroslav; Adamec, Lubomír

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.03.008

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Drosera capensis plants fed on chitin incorporate its nitrogen into their leaf tissue; however nutrient uptake is less efficient than for plants fed on protein. 11 Examination of insect carcasses after digestion reveals that 40-60% of the total nitrogen is unused, 12,13 consistent with the observation that the remains of insect exoskeletons appear mostly intact. 14 However, chitinase expression is upregulated in the presence of prey in the related species Nepenthes alata .…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Structure prediction and network analysis of chitinases from the Cape sundew, Drosera capensis

Unhelkar

Duong

Enendu

et al. 2017

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects

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This work demonstrates how computational techniques can facilitate quickly moving from raw sequence data to refined structural models and comparative analysis, and to select promising candidates for subsequent biochemical characterization. This capability is increasingly important given the large and growing body of data from high-throughput genome sequencing, which makes experimental characterization of every target impractical.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Structure prediction and network analysis of chitinases from the Cape sundew, Drosera capensis

Unhelkar

Duong

Enendu

et al. 2017

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects

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“…The presence of NFB has also been confirmed inside the traps of the aquatic carnivorous plants of Utricularia (Lentibulariaceae) (Sirová et al 2014 ), although those NFB may be bycatch in the same way inanimate microalgae and pollens are sucked into the traps (Koller-Peroutka et al 2015 ). Overall, the bacterial associates may be underappreciated source of N beside animal preys, their predators at higher trophic levels, and atmospheric deposition (Millett et al 2015 ; Pavlovič et al 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of myo-inositol and alkyl-substituted polysaccharide in the prey-trapping mucilage of Drosera capensis

Kokubun

2017

Sci Nat

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The chemical composition of the exudate mucilage droplets of the carnivorous plant Drosera capensis was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The mucilage was found to contain beside a very large molecular weight polysaccharide a significant amount of myo-inositol. It appears that myo-inositol escaped detection due to the commonly applied methodology on the chemical analysis of plant mucilage, such as dialysis, precipitation of polysaccharide component with alcohol, acid hydrolysis and detection of the resultant monosaccharide (aldose) units. The possible functions of myo-inositol in the mucilage droplets and the fate after being washed off from the leaf tentacles are proposed. On the polysaccharide component, the presence of methyl ester and alkyl chain-like moieties could be confirmed. These lipophilic moieties may provide the prey-trapping mucilage with the unique adhesive property onto the hydrophobic insect body parts, as well as onto the nature’s well-known superhydrophobic surfaces such as the leaves of the sacred lotus plants. A re-evaluation of the mineral components of the mucilage, reported 40 years ago, is presented from the viewpoints of the current result and plants’ natural habitat. A case for re-examination of the well-studied plant mucilaginous materials is made in light of the new findings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00114-017-1502-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Its secretion is induced by chitin in D. rotundifolia (Matu s ıkov a et al, 2005) and jasmonates in the Venus flytrap (Paszota et al, 2014). Chitinases help to digest chitin, a characteristic component of the exoskeletons of arthropods, which is beneficial for carnivorous sundew (Pavlovi c et al, 2016). The documented presence of a glycosidase (alpha-galactosidase) is not surprising.…”

Section: New Phytologistmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of electrical and jasmonate signalling in the recognition of captured prey in the carnivorous sundew plant Drosera capensis

et al. 2016

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The carnivorous sundew plant (Drosera capensis) captures prey using sticky tentacles. We investigated the tentacle and trap reactions in response to the electrical and jasmonate signalling evoked by different stimuli to reveal how carnivorous sundews recognize digestible captured prey in their traps. We measured the electrical signals, phytohormone concentration, enzyme activities and Chla fluorescence in response to mechanical stimulation, wounding or insect feeding in local and systemic traps. Seven new proteins in the digestive fluid were identified using mass spectrometry. Mechanical stimuli and live prey induced a fast, localized tentacle-bending reaction and enzyme secretion at the place of application. By contrast, repeated wounding induced a nonlocalized convulsive tentacle movement and enzyme secretion in local but also in distant systemic traps. These differences can be explained in terms of the electrical signal propagation and jasmonate accumulation, which also had a significant impact on the photosynthesis in the traps. The electrical signals generated in response to wounding could partially mimic a mechanical stimulation of struggling prey and might trigger a false alarm, confirming that the botanical carnivory and plant defence mechanisms are related. To trigger the full enzyme activity, the traps must detect chemical stimuli from the captured prey.

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A carnivorous sundew plant prefers protein over chitin as a source of nitrogen from its traps

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

Structure prediction and network analysis of chitinases from the Cape sundew, Drosera capensis

Structure prediction and network analysis of chitinases from the Cape sundew, Drosera capensis

Occurrence of myo-inositol and alkyl-substituted polysaccharide in the prey-trapping mucilage of Drosera capensis

The role of electrical and jasmonate signalling in the recognition of captured prey in the carnivorous sundew plant Drosera capensis

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