Physical limits and design principles for plant and fungal movements.
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The typical scales for plant and fungal movements vary over many orders of magnitude in time and length, but they are ultimately based on hydraulics and mechanics. We show that quantification of the length and time scales involved in plant and fungal motions leads to a natural classification, whose physical basis can be understood through an analysis of the mechanics of water transport through an elastic tissue. Our study also suggests a design principle for nonmuscular hydraulically actuated structures: Rapid actuation requires either small size or the enhancement of motion on large scales via elastic instabilities. (+info)
Kinetics and mechanism of Dionaea muscipula trap closing.
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The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) possesses an active trapping mechanism to capture insects with one of the most rapid movements in the plant kingdom, as described by Darwin. This article presents a detailed experimental investigation of trap closure by mechanical and electrical stimuli and the mechanism of this process. Trap closure consists of three distinctive phases: a silent phase with no observable movement; an accelerated movement of the lobes; and the relaxation of the lobes in their closed state, resulting in a new equilibrium. Uncouplers and blockers of membrane channels were used to investigate the mechanisms of different phases of closing. Uncouplers increased trap closure delay and significantly decreased the speed of trap closure. Ion channel blockers and aquaporin inhibitors increased time of closing. Transmission of a single electrical charge between a lobe and the midrib causes closure of the trap and induces an electrical signal propagating between both lobes and midrib. The Venus flytrap can accumulate small subthreshold charges, and when the threshold value is reached, the trap closes. Repeated application of smaller charges demonstrates the summation of stimuli. The cumulative character of electrical stimuli points to the existence of electrical memory in the Venus flytrap. The observed fast movement can be explained by the hydroelastic curvature model without invoking buckling instability. The new hydroelastic curvature mechanism provides an accurate description of the authors' experimental data. (+info)
Biologically closed electrical circuits in venus flytrap.
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Spatio-temporal changes of photosynthesis in carnivorous plants in response to prey capture, retention and digestion.
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Carnivorous plants have evolved modified leaves into the traps which assist in nutrient uptake from captured prey. It is known that the traps of carnivorous plants have usually lower photosynthetic rates than assimilation leaves as a result of adaptation to carnivory. However a few recent studies have indicated that photosynthesis and respiration undergo spatio-temporal changes during prey capture and retention, especially in the genera with active trapping mechanisms. This study describes the spatio-temporal changes of effective quantum yield of photochemical energy conversion in photosystem II (capital EF, Cyrillic PSII) in response to ant-derived formic acid during its capture and digestion. (+info)
Trichomes as sensors: detecting activity on the leaf surface.
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The dramatic movements of some carnivorous plants species are triggered by sensory structures derived from trichomes. While unusual plant species such as the Venus fly trap and sundews may be expected to have elaborate sensors to capture their insect prey, more modest plant species might not be expected to have similar sensory capabilities. Our recent work, however, has revealed that glandular trichomes on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) appear to have a function similar to trigger hairs of carnivorous species, acting as "early warning" sensors. Using a combination of behavioral, molecular, and biochemical techniques, we determined that caterpillars, moths and mechanical disruption upregulate signaling molecules and defensive genes found in glandular trichomes. Importantly, we discovered that plants whose trichomes have been broken respond more vigorously when their defenses were induced. Taken together, our results suggest that glandular trichomes can act as sensors that detect activity on the leaf surface, and ready plants for herbivore attack. (+info)
On the mechanism underlying photosynthetic limitation upon trigger hair irritation in the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis).
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A cysteine endopeptidase ("dionain") is involved in the digestive fluid of Dionaea muscipula (Venus's fly-trap).
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The carnivorous plant Dionaea muscipula (Venus's flytrap) secretes proteinases into the digestive fluid to digest prey proteins. In this study, we obtained evidence that the digestive fluid contains a cysteine endopeptidase, presumably belonging to the papain family, through inhibitor studies and partial amino acid sequencing of the major SDS-PAGE band protein. The name "dionain" is proposed for the enzyme. (+info)