scholarly journals Action potentials induce biomagnetic fields in carnivorous Venus flytrap plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Fabricant ◽  
Geoffrey Z. Iwata ◽  
Sönke Scherzer ◽  
Lykourgos Bougas ◽  
Katharina Rolfs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Optically Pumped ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Noninvasive Diagnostics ◽  
Venus Flytrap ◽  
Dionaea Muscipula ◽  
Cell Arrays ◽  
Electrical Signaling

AbstractUpon 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. Electro- and magnetophysiological techniques like electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging are used to record this activity and to diagnose disorders. Here we demonstrate that APs in a multicellular plant system produce measurable magnetic fields. Using atomic optically pumped magnetometers, biomagnetism associated with electrical activity in the carnivorous Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, was recorded. Action potentials were induced by heat stimulation and detected both electrically and magnetically. Furthermore, the thermal properties of ion channels underlying the AP were studied. Beyond proof of principle, our findings pave the way to understanding the molecular basis of biomagnetism in living plants. In the future, magnetometry may be used to study long-distance electrical signaling in a variety of plant species, and to develop noninvasive diagnostics of plant stress and disease.

scholarly journals Action potentials induce biomagnetic fields in Venus flytrap plants

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.

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

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrej Pavlovič ◽  
Michaela Libiaková ◽  
Boris Bokor ◽  
Jana Jakšová ◽  
Ivan Petřík ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Diethyl Ether ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Carnivorous Plant ◽  
External Application ◽  
Venus Flytrap ◽  
Dionaea Muscipula ◽  
Herbivore Attack ◽  
Jasmonate Signalling ◽  
Ether Treatment

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.

scholarly journals The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey-Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Böhm ◽  
Sönke Scherzer ◽  
Elzbieta Krol ◽  
Ines Kreuzer ◽  
Katharina von Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Potentials ◽  
Sodium Uptake ◽  
Venus Flytrap ◽  
Dionaea Muscipula

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-183 ◽  
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.

Individuality, self and sociality of vascular plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1821) ◽  
pp. 20190760 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Baluška ◽  
Stefano Mancuso
Keyword(s):  
Action Potentials ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
And Control

Vascular plants are integrated into coherent bodies via plant-specific synaptic adhesion domains, action potentials (APs) and other means of long-distance signalling running throughout the plant bodies. Plant-specific synapses and APs are proposed to allow plants to generate their self identities having unique ways of sensing and acting as agents with their own goals guiding their future activities. Plants move their organs with a purpose and with obvious awareness of their surroundings and require APs to perform and control these movements. Self-identities allow vascular plants to act as individuals enjoying sociality via their self/non-self-recognition and kin recognition. Flowering plants emerge as cognitive and intelligent organisms when the major strategy is to attract and control their animal pollinators as well as seed dispersers by providing them with food enriched with nutritive and manipulative/addictive compounds. Their goal in interactions with animals is manipulation for reproduction, dispersal and defence. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Basal cognition: multicellularity, neurons and the cognitive lens’.

Action Potential and Contraction of Dionaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap)

Science ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 133 (3456) ◽  
pp. 878-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Di Palma ◽  
R. Mohl ◽  
W. Best
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Venus Flytrap ◽  
Dionaea Muscipula

Long-term observations of spontaneous electrical activity of the uterine smooth muscle

1959 ◽  
Vol 196 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Pregnant Uterus ◽  
Implanted Electrodes ◽  
Spontaneous Electrical Activity ◽  
Myometrial Cells ◽  
Uterine Smooth Muscle

The spontaneous electrical activity of uterine smooth muscle was rather variable when acute observations were made. Therefore, a series of chronic experiments was performed with implanted electrodes to monitor a group of myometrial cells under different physiological conditions for periods up to eight weeks. The results showed that consistent behavior of myometrial cells could be observed provided similar hormonal status was maintained. Action potentials were rare or absent in myometrium of oophorectomized animals but were caused to appear by estrogen. In the pregnant uterus, action potentials increased both in amplitude and frequency of discharge as parturition approached, reached a peak at that time, and then declined in the postpartum days. The results indicated that in estrogen treatment and in parturition activities of myometrial cells were more synchronous. There was suggestive evidence that there were central impulses initiating activity in the pregnant uterus, and that the responses of the myometrium were affected by the local conditions.

Dynamics of amino acid redistribution in the carnivorous Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula ) after digestion of 13 C/15 N-labelled prey

Plant Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 886-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kruse ◽  
P. Gao ◽  
M. Eibelmeier ◽  
S. Alfarraj ◽  
H. Rennenberg
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Venus Flytrap ◽  
Dionaea Muscipula

scholarly journals Dependence of Spontaneous Electrical Activity and Basal Prolactin Release on Nonselective Cation Channels in Pituitary Lactotrophs

2012 ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. KUČKA ◽  
K. KRETSCHMANNOVÁ ◽  
S. S. STOJILKOVIC ◽  
H. ZEMKOVÁ ◽  
M. TOMIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Gh3 Cells ◽  
Cation Channels ◽  
Organic Cations ◽  
Trpc Channels ◽  
Pituitary Cells ◽  
Prolactin Release ◽  
Nonselective Cation Channels ◽  
Mrna Transcripts

All secretory anterior pituitary cells fire action potentials spontaneously and exhibit a high resting cation conductance, but the channels involved in the background permeability have not been identified. In cultured lactotrophs and immortalized GH3 cells, replacement of extracellular Na+ with large organic cations, but not blockade of voltage-gated Na+ influx, led to an instantaneous hyperpolarization of cell membranes that was associated with a cessation of spontaneous firing. When cells were clamped at –50 mV, which was close to the resting membrane potential in these cells, replacement of bath Na+ with organic cations resulted in an outward-like current, reflecting an inhibition of the inward holding membrane current and indicating loss of a background-depolarizing conductance. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed the high expression of mRNA transcripts for TRPC1 and much lower expression of TRPC6 in both lactotrophs and GH3 cells. Very low expression of TRPC3, TRPC4, and TRPC5 mRNA transcripts were also present in pituitary but not GH3 cells. 2-APB and SKF-96365, relatively selective blockers of TRPC channels, inhibited electrical activity, Ca2+ influx and prolactin release in a concentration-dependent manner. Gd3+, a common Ca2+ channel blocker, and flufenamic acid, an inhibitor of non-selective cation channels, also inhibited electrical activity, Ca2+ influx and prolactin release. These results indicate that nonselective cation channels, presumably belonging to the TRPC family, contribute to the background depolarizing conductance and firing of action potentials with consequent contribution to Ca2+ influx and hormone release in lactotrophs and GH3 cells.

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