Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carl Procko, Wen Mai Wong, Janki Patel, Seyed Ali Reza Mousavi, Tsegaye Dabi, Marc Duque, Lisa Baird, Sreekanth H. Chalasani, Joanne Chory
Summary: The evolution of the Venus flytrap's ability to sense, capture, and digest animal prey has long been a mystery in the scientific community. Recent genome and transcriptome sequencing studies have provided some insight into the genes involved in these tasks, but proving a direct link has been challenging. In this study, researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 methods to modify the Venus flytrap genome and found that mutations in two mechanosensitive ion channel genes led to a reduced response in leaf-closing behavior. The findings suggest that multiple redundant ion channels play a role in the plant's sensory system for prey detection.
Review
Plant Sciences
Rainer Hedrich, Ines Kreuzer
Summary: All plants have electrical excitability, but only few can produce a well-defined action potential (AP). The Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula is able to generate APs with a high firing frequency and speed, allowing it to catch small animals quickly. The captured prey triggers a certain number of APs, which influences the trapping decisions made by the flytrap. The typical Dionaea AP lasts 1 second and consists of five phases, each controlled by specific ion channels, pumps, and carriers.
Article
Plant Sciences
Matthias Freund, Dorothea Graus, Andreas Fleischmann, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Qianshi Lin, Tanya Renner, Christian Stigloher, Victor Albert, Rainer Hedrich, Kenji Fukushima
Summary: To survive in nutrient-poor environments, carnivorous plants have developed traps analogous to animal digestive systems to capture and digest small organisms. These traps modify plant-specific organs, such as leaves, to acquire the ability to break down and absorb nutrients. Digestive glands in carnivorous plants secrete enzymes and other substances to digest prey, while absorbing the released compounds for nutrient uptake.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soenke Scherzer, Shouguang Huang, Anda Iosip, Ines Kreuzer, Ken Yokawa, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Manfred Heckmann, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: This study investigates the electrical signaling mechanism in Venus flytraps and discovers that trigger hairs can turn mechanical stimuli into calcium signals and action potentials, which then propagate through ion channels and pumps within the plant. The propagation of electrical signals is suppressed by anesthesia but does not affect the initiation of calcium signals by touch stimulation. This research is important for understanding the electrical signaling in plants.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Andrej Pavlovic
Summary: Carnivorous plants rely on photosynthetic assimilation of carbon dioxide, but have lower photosynthesis rates due to low nitrogen and phosphorus content and the cost of carnivory in their traps. However, nutrient uptake from prey after digestion can increase photosynthesis rate. During prey capture and digestion, carnivorous plants show changes in photosynthesis and respiration rate. Some carnivorous plants are aquatic, with different survival demands from terrestrial plants. The plastid genomes of carnivorous plants resemble those of parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plants.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN PLANT SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sonke Scherzer, Jennifer Bohm, Shouguang Huang, Anda L. Iosip, Ines Kreuzer, Dirk Becker, Manfred Heckmann, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Ingo Dreyer, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: Since the 19th century, it has been known that the carnivorous Venus flytrap is electrically excitable, but the mechanism and molecular entities of its action potential (AP) remain unknown. This study found that the trap expressed a specific set of ion transporters during its electrically excitable stage, particularly the increase in glutamate receptor GLR3.6 RNA. Electrical stimulation or glutamate application induced an AP and cytoplasmic Ca2+ transient that propagated at the same speed along the trap's surface. The counting of APs and long-lasting Ca2+ transients directs different steps in the plant's hunting cycle.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bartosz J. Plachno, Malgorzata Kapusta, Piotr Stolarczyk, Piotr Swiatek
Summary: This study used light and electron microscopy to investigate the structure of stellate trichomes in carnivorous plants, specifically Dionaea muscipula. The results showed that these trichomes act as transfer cells and are not only tomentose-like trichomes. The composition and function of trichome cells vary, and immature trichomes produce mucilage to protect the trap surface.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shouguang Huang, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: The Venus flytrap benefits from fire ecology by recognizing and responding to heat waves, closing its traps to survive fires and continue to catch prey during hot summers.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kenji Fukushima
Summary: A recent study utilizes computational models to investigate the functional morphology of carnivorous trapping pitchers in Nepenthes, with a focus on the peristome. The study explores new dimensions in the relationship between form and function, offering theoretical insights into the role of complex trap morphology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eashan Saikia, Nino F. Laubli, Jan T. Burri, Markus Ruggeberg, Christian M. Schleputz, Hannes Vogler, Ingo Burgert, Hans J. Herrmann, Bradley J. Nelson, Ueli Grossniklaus, Falk K. Wittel
Summary: Insects become prey to the Venus flytrap when they touch the sensory hairs on the flytrap lobes, triggering trap closure. The mechanical stimulus from the touch induces an electrical response in sensory cells of the trigger hair, with mechanosensitive ion channels opening due to membrane tension changes. A multi-scale hair model was used to investigate how stimuli act on sensory cells, revealing high-stretch regions localized in the interior of the cell wall rather than at the notch periphery. Different cell shape variants were also studied to understand the influence of morphology on these high-stretch regions and potentially provide new insights into mechanotransduction activity in the flytrap.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jacques M. T. de Bakker, Charly N. W. Belterman, Ruben Coronel
Summary: Mammalian heart cells and cells of Dionaea muscipula leaves both exhibit the ability to generate propagated action potentials, but their extracellular electrograms show significant differences in morphology. The diversity in morphologies of Dionaea electrograms may be influenced by temperature and ion concentrations in the extracellular space.
BIOELECTROCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alexander G. Volkov, Leon Chua
Summary: Plants have sensory, short-term, and long-term memory and can exhibit electrical responses that may contain memory resistors. The discovery of volatile memristors in plants through electrical stimulation opens up new avenues for modeling and understanding electrical phenomena in the plant kingdom.
FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Corentin Dupont, Bruno Buatois, Jean-Marie Bessiere, Claire Villemant, Tom Hattermann, Doris Gomez, Laurence Gaume
Summary: The odours of pitcher plants are associated with the type of prey they capture. The study measured the odour and prey compositions of different Sarracenia taxa and found significant differences. The results suggest that odours play a crucial role in the diet composition of pitcher plants.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mathias Scharmann, Andreas Wistuba, Alex Widmer
Summary: The evolutionary history of Nepenthes, a genus of around 160 species of carnivorous plants mainly found in tropical Asia, is around 5 million years old. The study confirms previous bifurcating phylogenies and reveals the importance of introgression and hybridization in plant evolution. Organellar capture, admixture graphs, and phylogenetic network analyses provide evidence of introgression events within and between different clades of the main radiation of Nepenthes.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maximilian Gram, P. Albertova, V Schirmer, M. Blaimer, M. Gamer, M. J. Herrmann, P. Nordbeck, P. M. Jakob
Summary: Spin-lock based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has the potential to directly detect neuronal activity and advance basic research in neuroscience. This study investigated the Rotary EXcitation (REX) effect through simulations, phantom, and in vivo experiments, discovering an empirical law for predicting optimal spin-lock pulse durations. The study also established experimental conditions for robust detection of ultra-weak magnetic field oscillations with compensation for static field inhomogeneities. Additionally, a novel concept for emulating brain activity using the MRI gradient system was presented, allowing validation of REX sequences under controlled conditions. Transmission of Rotary EXcitation (tREX) successfully detected magnetic field oscillations in the lower nano-Tesla range in brain tissue, opening up possibilities for biomagnetic field quantification.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
L. Arab, Y. Hoshika, H. Muller, L. Cotrozzi, C. Nali, M. Tonelli, P. Ache, E. Paoletti, S. Alfarraj, G. Albasher, R. Hedrich, H. Rennenberg
Summary: Chronic ozone exposure leads to carbohydrate deficiency in the roots of date palms, causing oxidative stress and making the roots particularly susceptible to this condition.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soenke Scherzer, Shouguang Huang, Anda Iosip, Ines Kreuzer, Ken Yokawa, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Manfred Heckmann, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: This study investigates the electrical signaling mechanism in Venus flytraps and discovers that trigger hairs can turn mechanical stimuli into calcium signals and action potentials, which then propagate through ion channels and pumps within the plant. The propagation of electrical signals is suppressed by anesthesia but does not affect the initiation of calcium signals by touch stimulation. This research is important for understanding the electrical signaling in plants.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nadia Bazihizina, Jennifer Boehm, Maxim Messerer, Christian Stigloher, Heike M. Mueller, Tracey Ann Cuin, Tobias Maierhofer, Joan Cabot, Klaus F. X. Mayer, Christian Fella, Shouguang Huang, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Saleh Alquraishi, Michael Breadmore, Stefano Mancuso, Sergey Shabala, Peter Ache, Heng Zhang, Jian-Kang Zhu, Rainer Hedrich, Soenke Scherzer
Summary: Chenopodium quinoa uses epidermal bladder cells to sequester excess salt, with stalk cells acting as filters and controllers for transcellular transport.
Article
Plant Sciences
Dorothea Graus, Kunkun Li, Jan M. Rathje, Meiqi Ding, Markus Krischke, Martin J. Mueller, Tracey Ann Cuin, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Soenke Scherzer, Irene Marten, Kai R. Konrad, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: Research found that tobacco leaves exhibit significant leaf movements and detoxify sodium ions through the release of cellular water under salt stress. Tobacco leaves can recover quickly after salt stress, and this recovery process depends on plasma membrane hydrogen ion pumps and vacuolar ion exchange. Unlike roots, salt stress signaling and processing in tobacco leaves do not rely on calcium signaling.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anda-Larisa Iosip, Soenke Scherzer, Sonja Bauer, Dirk Becker, Markus Krischke, Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid, Joerg Schultz, Ines Kreuzer, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: The Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula estimates prey nutrient content by counting trigger hair contacts initiating action potentials (APs) and calcium waves traveling all over the trap. The plant uses a calcium clock to time the memory function and decision-making. There are two distinct phases of trap closure, fast trap snapping requiring two APs and slow trap sealing and prey processing induced by more than five APs. The DYSC mutant fails to properly read, count, and decode touch/AP-induced calcium signals.
Article
Plant Sciences
Shouguang Huang, Tobias Maierhofer, Kenji Hashimoto, Xiangyu Xu, Sohail M. Karimi, Heike Mueller, Michael A. Geringer, Yi Wang, Joerg Kudla, Ive De Smet, Rainer Hedrich, Dietmar Geiger, M. Rob G. Roelfsema
Summary: This study found that CIPK23 is expressed in Arabidopsis guard cells and enhances stomatal conductance by regulating the activity of multiple ion channel proteins, including the inhibition of SLAC1-type anion channels.
Article
Plant Sciences
Traud Winkelmann, Gerhard Bringmann, Anne Herwig, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: Triphyophyllum peltatum, a rare tropical African liana, exhibits facultative carnivory. This study identified phosphorus deficiency as the key trigger for the formation of carnivorous leaves in this plant. Cultivation of T. peltatum and induction of carnivory have been established, which will provide important insights into the molecular mechanism of carnivory.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leila Arab, Yasutomo Hoshika, Elena Paoletti, Philip J. White, Michael Dannenmann, Heike Mueller, Peter Ache, Rainer Hedrich, Saleh Alfarraj, Ghada Albasher, Heinz Rennenberg
Summary: Chronic ozone exposure selectively disrupts metabolic processes in the roots rather than the shoot, affecting mineral uptake and partitioning between roots and shoots. However, there were no significant changes in total carbon and nitrogen concentrations and their partitioning between different metabolic pools. The effects of chronic ozone exposure on mineral acquisition and partitioning between leaves and roots are discussed.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Rainer Hedrich, Ines Kreuzer
Summary: All plants have electrical excitability, but only few can produce a well-defined action potential (AP). The Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula is able to generate APs with a high firing frequency and speed, allowing it to catch small animals quickly. The captured prey triggers a certain number of APs, which influences the trapping decisions made by the flytrap. The typical Dionaea AP lasts 1 second and consists of five phases, each controlled by specific ion channels, pumps, and carriers.
Article
Plant Sciences
Justyna Jaslan, Irene Marten, Liina Jakobson, Triinu Arjus, Rosalia Deeken, Cecilia Sarmiento, Alexis De Angeli, Mikael Brosche, Hannes Kollist, Rainer Hedrich
Summary: Plant transpiration is regulated by stomata, which are controlled by S- and R-type anion channels. Arabidopsis mutants lacking the ALMT12/QUAC1 R-type anion channel exhibit only a partial reduction in R-type channel currents. The molecular nature of these remaining R-type anion currents is still unknown.
Article
Forestry
Baoguo Du, Jana Barbro Winkler, Peter Ache, Philip J. White, Michael Dannenmann, Saleh Alfarraj, Gadah Albasher, Joerg-Peter Schnitzler, Rainer Hedrich, Heinz Rennenberg
Summary: Drought and salt exposure have significant effects on water relations and nitrogen metabolites in leaves and roots of date palm seedlings. Water deprivation decreased total C concentration and increased total N concentration in roots, while salt exposure initially decreased total C concentration and increased total N concentration in roots, but increased total C concentration in leaves upon prolonged exposure. Both treatments resulted in the accumulation of most amino acids, indicating their role as compatible solutes in response to salt and drought stress in the roots, but not in the leaves. These findings highlight the differential impact of water deprivation and salt exposure on N metabolism in date palm seedlings.
Article
Plant Sciences
Bo Xu, Xueying Feng, Adriane Piechatzek, Shuqun Zhang, Kai R. Konrad, Johannes Kromdijk, Rainer Hedrich, Matthew Gilliham
Summary: This study revealed the important role of GADs in maintaining ROS homeostasis in guard cells, likely through a Ca2+-mediated pathway. The loss of GAD1, GAD4, and GAD5 in gad2 leaves increased GABA deficiency and resulted in increased cytosolic calcium and ROS accumulation in guard cells. Complementation with GAD2 or the application of ROS inhibitors restored the greater stomatal apertures of gad1/2/4/5, emphasizing the complexity of GABA's role as a guard-cell signal.
Article
Plant Sciences
Benjamin A. Babst, David M. Braun, Abhijit A. Karve, R. Frank Baker, Thu M. Tran, Douglas J. Kenny, Julia Rohlhill, Jan Knoblauch, Michael Knoblauch, Gertrud Lohaus, Ryan Tappero, Soenke Scherzer, Rainer Hedrich, Kaare H. Jensen
Summary: Phloem transport of photoassimilates plays a crucial role in plant growth and yield. This study demonstrates that sugar import is not necessary for phloem sap flow, and increased potassium loading compensates for decreased sucrose loading to maintain phloem pressure and transport.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ali Kiani-Pouya, Leiting Li, Fatemeh Rasouli, Zheting Zhang, Jiahong Chen, Min Yu, Ayesha Tahir, Rainer Hedrich, Sergey Shabala, Heng Zhang
Summary: This study characterized the transcriptome differences between intact and EBC-free quinoa leaves in response to salt stress. EBC-free leaves retained most of the transcriptome responses to salt stress, but failed to induce certain specific processes such as increased DNA replication activity. These results reveal the critical role of EBCs in salt stress acclimation of quinoa leaves.