Degradation of a peptide in pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco

An, Chung-Il; Takekawa, Shoji; Okazawa, Atsushi; Fukusaki, Eiichiro; Kobayashi, Akio

doi:10.1007/s00425-002-0768-7

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…It is clear that plant carnivory is independent of the presence of vascularized glands in Dionaea, Aldrovanda, and Nepenthes ( fig. 3), as the absorption of nutrients by nonvascularized glands has been exemplified within Dionaea, Aldrovanda, and Nepenthes ( Fabian-Galan and Salageanu 1968;Robins and Juniper 1980;An et al 2002). This prompts two questions: how did vascularized glands arise in Drosera, Drosophyllum, and Triphyophyllum, and why did they arise?…”

Section: On the Origin Of Carnivorous Glands In The Caryophyllalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sticky Situation: Assessing Adaptations for Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales by Means of Stochastic Character Mapping

Renner

Specht

2011

International Journal of Plant Sciences

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to International Journal of Plant Sciences.Phylogenetic relationships among carnivorous plants of the angiosperm order Caryophyllales have been explored, although a robust phylogeny encompassing all carnivorous genera is absent. We sample nuclear ribosomal spacer (internal transcribed spacer) and chloroplast intergenic spacer (PY-IGS), along with previously sequenced DNA from members of the noncore Caryophyllales, for use in Bayesian statistics and maximum likelihood-based searches of phylogeny. Taxonomic relationships across genera are refined, and three strongly supported clades are identified: monophyletic Droseraceae, Nepenthaceae, and a third clade containing Ancistrocladaceae, Dioncophyllaceae, and Drosophyllaceae. In combination with phylogenetic reconstruction, stochastic character mapping is used to assess evolutionary changes in the morphology of glands that are found on the lamina and involved in the digestion of prey. The presence of sessile glands is identified as the likely ancestral character state, and stalked and pitted glands are suggested to have been acquired independently by ingroup and outgroup taxa. Additionally, in some genera we found a lack of association between gland vasculature and plant carnivory, demonstrating that the internal architecture of glands is not indicative of whether the plant is a functional carnivore. Finally, we discuss how adaptive changes resulting in the evolution of the carnivorous gland may have occurred either by emargination of the leaf blade or homologous transformation of pinnae.

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Section: On the Origin Of Carnivorous Glands In The Caryophyllalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sticky Situation: Assessing Adaptations for Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales by Means of Stochastic Character Mapping

Renner

Specht

2011

International Journal of Plant Sciences

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“…The slippery walls also prevent the prey from escaping and it eventually drowns in the fluid in zone 3 ( Fig. 1) containing digestive solutions and absorptive glands (Schulze et al 1997;An et al 2002aAn et al , 2002b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Slippery surfaces of carnivorous plants: composition of epicuticular wax crystals in Nepenthes alata Blanco pitchers

Riedel

Eichner

Jetter

2003

Planta

113

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Plants in the genus Nepenthes obtain a substantial nutrient supply by trapping insects in highly modified leaves. A broad zone of the inner surface of these pitchers is densely covered with wax crystals on which most insects lose their footing. This slippery wax surface, capturing prey and preventing its escape from the trap, plays a pivotal role in the carnivorous syndrome. To understand the mechanism of slipperiness, the present investigation aimed at an ultrastructural and physico-chemical characterization of the wax crystals in pitchers of N. alata Blanco. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that entire platelets protruded perpendicularly from the surface. Methods were developed that allowed the mechanical removal of wax crystals from the pitcher surface. It could be shown that the sampling was selective for the epicuticular wax, relevant for plant-insect interactions. The crystals consisted of a mixture of aliphatic compounds dominated by very-long-chain aldehydes. Triacontanal, at 43% the most abundant constituent, was largely responsible for crystal formation. Solubility data indicate that the Nepenthes crystals contained polymeric forms of this aldehyde. The resulting mechanical properties of the polymer crystals and the mechanism of slipperiness are discussed.

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“…In spite of these very different mechanisms, both surfaces are extremely slippery for insects and cause the prey to fall into the lower part of the pitcher. In this part, specialized glands secrete a digestive solution in which the insects get trapped (Gaume and Forterre, 2007) and which finally absorbs the insect-derived nutrients (An et al, 2002a;An et al, 2002b;Schulze et al, 1997;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slippery surfaces of pitcher plants: Nepenthes wax crystals minimize insect attachment via microscopic surface roughness

Scholz

Bückins

Dolge

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

111

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SUMMARYPitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes efficiently trap and retain insect prey in highly specialized leaves. Besides a slippery peristome which inhibits adhesion of insects they employ epicuticular wax crystals on the inner walls of the conductive zone of the pitchers to hamper insect attachment by adhesive devices. It has been proposed that the detachment of individual crystals and the resulting contamination of adhesive organs is responsible for capturing insects. However, our results provide evidence in favour of a different mechanism, mainly based on the stability and the roughness of the waxy surface. First, we were unable to detect a large quantity of crystal fragments on the pads of insects detached from mature pitcher surfaces of Nepenthes alata. Second, investigation of the pitcher surface by focused ion beam treatment showed that the wax crystals form a compact 3D structure. Third, atomic force microscopy of the platelet-shaped crystals revealed that the crystals are mechanically stable, rendering crystal detachment by insect pads unlikely. Fourth, the surface profile parameters of the wax layer showed striking similarities to those of polishing paper with low grain size. By measuring friction forces of insects on this artificial surface we demonstrate that microscopic roughness alone is sufficient to minimize insect attachment. A theoretical model shows that surface roughness within a certain length scale will prevent adhesion by being too rough for adhesive pads but not rough enough for claws. Supplementary material available online at

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Degradation of a peptide in pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco

Cited by 18 publications

References 27 publications

A Sticky Situation: Assessing Adaptations for Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales by Means of Stochastic Character Mapping

A Sticky Situation: Assessing Adaptations for Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales by Means of Stochastic Character Mapping

Slippery surfaces of carnivorous plants: composition of epicuticular wax crystals in Nepenthes alata Blanco pitchers

Slippery surfaces of pitcher plants: Nepenthes wax crystals minimize insect attachment via microscopic surface roughness

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