Comparative kinematical analyses of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) snap traps

Abstract

SummaryAlthough the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) can be considered as one of the most extensively investigated carnivorous plants, knowledge is still scarce about diversity of the snap-trap motion, the functionality of snap traps under varying environmental conditions, and their opening motion. By conducting simple snap-trap closure experiments in air and under water, we present striking evidence that adult Dionaea snaps similarly fast in aerial and submersed states and, hence, is potentially able to gain nutrients from fast aquatic prey during seasonal inundation. We reveal three snapping modes of adult traps, all incorporating snap buckling, and show that millimeter-sized, much slower seedling traps do not yet incorporate such elastic instabilities. Moreover, opening kinematics of young and adult Dionaea snap traps reveal that reverse snap buckling is not performed, corroborating the assumption that growth takes place on certain trap lobe regions. Our findings are discussed in an evolutionary, biomechanical, functional–morphological and biomimetic context.

How the carnivorous waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) snaps

“…In this context, a detailed investigation of fluid displacement during closure between the two species is of high interest and worth further research. This has been stated in [4], where we show that Dionaea traps also function under water, and therefore, prove that the viscosity of the surrounding medium (air versus water) seems not to be the main constraint for the evolution of the different types of snap-trap actuation found in Aldrovanda and Dionaea.…”

“…Consequently, kinematic amplification would be a suitable way to achieve sufficiently fast and 'economic' plant motions for small structures. This is further confirmed by the fact that traps of juvenile Dionaea, which are similar in size to those of adult Aldrovanda, do not yet employ snap-buckling for closure but presumably move purely hydraulically, yet much slower than Aldrovanda traps [4]. As shown in this study, the faster snapping motion in Aldrovanda can, in turn, be explained by the speed boost due to the incorporated prestress.…”

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

“…The authors showed that minute seedling traps are much slower and do not yet incorporate elastic instabilities responsible for the fast motion. These findings are discussed in biomechanical and biomimetic contexts [ 10 ].…”

“…In addition to the fields of botanical–biomimetic research, Wilhelm Barthlott has significantly contributed to many other fields of botany, for example, systematics and functional morphology of carnivorous plants and epiphytic cacti, biogeography/biodiversity and pollination biology (UV signatures). Some of these topics have become objects of interest in biomimetic research and are partially covered in articles in this Thematic Series [ 10 – 11 ].…”

Artificial Venus Flytraps: A Research Review and Outlook on Their Importance for Novel Bioinspired Materials Systems

“…The energy consumption of D. muscipula for one trap closure is ~300 μmol ATP, equivalent to 9.66 J (Jaffe, 1973 ) (ATP hydrolysis consumes roughly 30.5 kJ/mol (Rosing and Slater, 1972 ). Reopening, after prey capture and digestion, occurs over 1–2 days Fagerberg and Howe, 1996 ; Volkov et al, 2014 ; Poppinga et al, 2016 , 2018 ). It is controlled either by irreversible growth processes (Ashida, 1934 ) or by hydrostatic pressure changes within the lobes (Markin et al, 2008 ).…”