Taste for protein: Chemical signal from prey stimulates enzyme secretion through jasmonate signalling in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap

SummaryGeneral anaesthetics are compounds that induce loss of responsiveness to environmental stimuli in animals and humans. The primary site of general anaesthetic action is the nervous system, where anaesthetics inhibit neuronal transmission. Although plants do not have neurons, they generate electrical signals in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we investigated the effect of the general volatile anaesthetic diethyl ether on the ability to sense potential prey or herbivore attacks in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). We monitored trap movement, electrical signalling, phytohormone accumulation and gene expression in response to the mechanical stimulation of trigger hairs and wounding under diethyl ether treatment. Diethyl ether completely inhibited the generation of action potentials and trap closing reactions, which were easily and rapidly restored when the anaesthetic was removed. Diethyl ether also inhibited the later response: jasmonate (JA) accumulation and expression of JA-responsive genes. However, external application of JA bypassed the inhibited action potentials and restored gene expression under diethyl ether anaesthesia, indicating that downstream reactions from JA are not inhibited. Thus, the Venus flytrap cannot sense prey or a herbivore attack under diethyl ether treatment. This is an intriguing parallel to the effect of anaesthesia on animals and humans.HighlightCarnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is unresponsive to insect prey or herbivore attack due to impaired electrical and jasmonate signalling under general anaesthesia induced by diethyl ether.

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Venus Flytrap: How an Excitable, Carnivorous Plant Works

Trends in Plant Science ◽

10.1016/j.tplants.2017.12.004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 220-234 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Rainer Hedrich ◽

Erwin Neher

Keyword(s):

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Venus Flytrap

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Faculty of 1000 evaluation for Venus flytrap HKT1-type channel provides for prey sodium uptake into carnivorous plant without conflicting with electrical excitability.

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature ◽

10.3410/f.725846477.793513284 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Ekkehard Neuhaus

Keyword(s):

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Electrical Excitability ◽

Sodium Uptake ◽

Venus Flytrap

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Action potentials induce biomagnetic fields in Venus flytrap plants

10.1101/2020.08.12.247924 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Fabricant ◽

Geoffrey Z. Iwata ◽

Sönke Scherzer ◽

Lykourgos Bougas ◽

Katharina Rolfs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electrical Activity ◽

Action Potentials ◽

Plant Stress ◽

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Optically Pumped ◽

Noninvasive Diagnostics ◽

Electrical Signals ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Dionaea Muscipula ◽

Cell Arrays

Upon stimulation, plants elicit electrical signals that can travel within a cellular network analogous to the animal nervous system. It is well-known that in the human brain, voltage changes in certain regions result from concerted electrical activity which, in the form of action potentials (APs), travels within nerve-cell arrays. Electrophysiological techniques like electroencephalography1, magnetoencephalography2, and magnetic resonance imaging3,4 are used to record this activity and to diagnose disorders. In the plant kingdom, two types of electrical signals are observed: all-or-nothing APs of similar amplitudes to those seen in humans and animals, and slow-wave potentials of smaller amplitudes. Sharp APs appear restricted to unique plant species like the “sensitive plant”, Mimosa pudica, and the carnivorous Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula5,6. Here we ask the question, is electrical activity in the Venus flytrap accompanied by distinct magnetic signals? Using atomic optically pumped magnetometers7,8, biomagnetism in AP-firing traps of the carnivorous plant was recorded. APs were induced by heat stimulation, and the thermal properties of ion channels underlying the AP were studied. The measured magnetic signals exhibit similar temporal behavior and shape to the fast de- and repolarization AP phases. Our findings pave the way to understanding the molecular basis of biomagnetism, which might be used to improve magnetometer-based noninvasive diagnostics of plant stress and disease.

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Anaesthesia with diethyl ether impairs jasmonate signalling in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

Annals of Botany ◽

10.1093/aob/mcz177 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 125 (1) ◽

pp. 173-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrej Pavlovič ◽

Michaela Libiaková ◽

Boris Bokor ◽

Jana Jakšová ◽

Ivan Petřík ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Diethyl Ether ◽

Action Potentials ◽

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Type I ◽

External Application ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Dionaea Muscipula ◽

Electrical Signalling ◽

Ether Treatment

Abstract Background and Aims General anaesthetics are compounds that induce loss of responsiveness to environmental stimuli in animals and humans. The primary site of action of general anaesthetics is the nervous system, where anaesthetics inhibit neuronal transmission. Although plants do not have neurons, they generate electrical signals in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we investigated the effect of the general volatile anaesthetic diethyl ether on the ability to sense potential prey or herbivore attacks in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Methods We monitored trap movement, electrical signalling, phytohormone accumulation and gene expression in response to the mechanical stimulation of trigger hairs and wounding under diethyl ether treatment. Key Results Diethyl ether completely inhibited the generation of action potentials and trap closing reactions, which were easily and rapidly restored when the anaesthetic was removed. Diethyl ether also inhibited the later response: jasmonic acid (JA) accumulation and expression of JA-responsive genes (cysteine protease dionain and type I chitinase). However, external application of JA bypassed the inhibited action potentials and restored gene expression under diethyl ether anaesthesia, indicating that downstream reactions from JA are not inhibited. Conclusions The Venus flytrap cannot sense prey or a herbivore attack under diethyl ether treatment caused by inhibited action potentials, and the JA signalling pathway as a consequence.

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On the mechanism underlying photosynthetic limitation upon trigger hair irritation in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis)

Journal of Experimental Botany ◽

10.1093/jxb/erq404 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (6) ◽

pp. 1991-2000 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

A. Pavlovic ◽

L. Slovakova ◽

C. Pandolfi ◽

S. Mancuso

Keyword(s):

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Dionaea Muscipula

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Venus Flytrap HKT1-Type Channel Provides for Prey Sodium Uptake into Carnivorous Plant Without Conflicting with Electrical Excitability

Molecular Plant ◽

10.1016/j.molp.2015.09.017 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 428-436 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

J. Böhm ◽

S. Scherzer ◽

S. Shabala ◽

E. Krol ◽

E. Neher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Electrical Excitability ◽

Sodium Uptake ◽

Venus Flytrap

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Gravity Affects the Closure of the Traps inDionaea muscipula

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2014/964203 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Camilla Pandolfi ◽

Elisa Masi ◽

Boris Voigt ◽

Sergio Mugnai ◽

Dieter Volkmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parabolic Flight ◽

Large Diameter ◽

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Dionaea Muscipula ◽

Fast Movement ◽

First Time ◽

Kinetics Of

Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipulaEllis) is a carnivorous plant known for its ability to capture insects thanks to the fast snapping of its traps. This fast movement has been long studied and it is triggered by the mechanical stimulation of hairs, located in the middle of the leaves. Here we present detailed experiments on the effect of microgravity on trap closure recorded for the first time during a parabolic flight campaign. Our results suggest that gravity has an impact on trap responsiveness and on the kinetics of trap closure. The possible role of the alterations of membrane permeability induced by microgravity on trap movement is discussed. Finally we show how the Venus flytrap could be an easy and effective model plant to perform studies on ion channels and aquaporin activities, as well as on electrical activityin vivoon board of parabolic flights and large diameter centrifuges.

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Stretch-activated ion channels identified in the touch-sensitive structures of carnivorous Droseraceae plants

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.64250 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Carl Procko ◽

Swetha Murthy ◽

William T Keenan ◽

Seyed Ali Reza Mousavi ◽

Tsegaye Dabi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ion Channels ◽

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Comparative Transcriptomics ◽

Carnivorous Plants ◽

Nutrient Acquisition ◽

Mechanosensitive Ion Channels ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Prey Recognition ◽

Genes Encoding ◽

Stretch Activated Ion Channels

In response to touch, some carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap have evolved spectacular movements to capture animals for nutrient acquisition. However, the molecules that confer this sensitivity remain unknown. We used comparative transcriptomics to show that expression of three genes encoding homologs of the MscS-Like (MSL) and OSCA/TMEM63 family of mechanosensitive ion channels are localized to touch-sensitive trigger hairs of Venus flytrap. We focus here on the candidate with the most enriched expression in trigger hairs, the MSL homolog FLYCATCHER1 (FLYC1). We show that FLYC1 transcripts are localized to mechanosensory cells within the trigger hair, transfecting FLYC1 induces chloride-permeable stretch-activated currents in naïve cells, and transcripts coding for FLYC1 homologs are expressed in touch-sensing cells of Cape sundew, a related carnivorous plant of the Droseraceae family. Our data suggest that the mechanism of prey recognition in carnivorous Droseraceae evolved by co-opting ancestral mechanosensitive ion channels to sense touch.

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Micropropagation of venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula

Science and Technology Development Journal ◽

10.32508/stdj.v18i2.1147 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 99-104

Author(s):

Uyen Hong Thu Vu ◽

Trong Huu Nguyen ◽

Phuc Hoang Tran ◽

Le Van Bui

Keyword(s):

South Carolina ◽

Shoot Proliferation ◽

Shoot Multiplication ◽

Carnivorous Plant ◽

Naphthaleneacetic Acid ◽

Root Induction ◽

Venus Flytrap ◽

Dionaea Muscipula ◽

Half Strength ◽

Set Up

Dionaea muscipula, also known as Venus flytrap, is an endangered carnivorous plant which has origin from North and South Carolina, USA. An efficient protocol for largescale multiplication of this species has been set up through 3 stages: shoot multiplication, root induction and moving plant to the natural environment. On the half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, supplemented with 0.5 mg/L kinetin gave the highest shoot proliferation of 20.44 ± 2.14 shoots/explant; adding 0.5 mg/l α - naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) induced the best rooting 5.33 ± 0.44 roots/shoot. The 4-5 cm plantlets were then transplanted on the rooting medium including 50 % peat and 50 % perlite. In the first 14 days, they were placed in the light room with the application of an anti-transpirant film, irrigated 3 times/day and after that all moved to the garden. The rate of successful transfer process reached nearly 100 %.

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