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Bazile V, Le Moguédec G, Marshall DJ, Gaume L. Fluid physico-chemical properties influence capture and diet in Nepenthes pitcher plants. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2015; 115:705-16. [PMID: 25672361 PMCID: PMC4343297 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcu266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Revised: 11/25/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Nepenthes pitcher plants have evolved modified leaves with slippery surfaces and enzymatic fluids that trap and digest prey, faeces and/or plant detritus. Although the fluid's contribution to insect capture is recognized, the physico-chemical properties involved remain underexplored and may vary among species, influencing their diet type. This study investigates the contributions of acidity and viscoelasticity in the fluid's capture efficiency of two ant and two fly species in four Nepenthes species with different nutrition strategies. METHODS Four Nepenthes species were studied, namely N. rafflesiana, N. gracilis, N. hemsleyana and N. ampullaria. Fluid was collected from pitchers of varying ages from plants growing in the field and immediately transferred to glass vials, and individual ants (tribe Campotini, Fomicinae) and flies (Calliphora vomitoria and Drosophila melanogaster) were dropped in and observed for 5 min. Water-filled vials were used as controls. Survival and lifetime data were analysed using models applied to right-censored observations. Additional laboratory experiments were carried out in which C. vomitoria flies were immersed in pH-controlled aqueous solutions and observed for 5 min. KEY RESULTS Pitcher fluid differed among Nepenthes species as regards insect retention capacity and time-to-kill, with differences observed between prey types. Only the fluids of the reputedly insectivorous species were very acidic and/or viscoelastic and retained significantly more insects than the water controls. Viscoelastic fluids were fatal to flies and were able to trap the broadest diversity of insects. Younger viscoelastic fluids showed a better retention ability than older fluids, although with less rapid killing ability, suggesting that a chemical action follows a mechanical one. Insect retention increased exponentially with fluid viscoelasticity, and this happened more abruptly and at a lower threshold for flies compared with ants. Flies were more often retained if they fell into the traps on their backs, thus wetting their wings. Insect retention and death rate increased with fluid acidity, with a lower threshold for ants than for flies, and the time-to-kill decreased with increasing acidity. The laboratory experiments showed that fewer flies escaped from acidic solutions compared with water. CONCLUSIONS In addition to viscoelasticity, the pitcher's fluid acidity and wetting ability influence the fate of insects and hence the diet of Nepenthes. The plants might select the prey that they retain by manipulating the secretion of H(+) ions and polysaccharides in their pitcher fluid. This in turn might participate in possible adaptive radiation of this genus with regard to nutrient sequestration strategy. These plants might even structurally influence insect fall-orientation and capture-probability, inspiring biomimetic designs for pest control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Bazile
- Université Montpellier II, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, INRA, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, Biology Department, University of Brunei Darussalam, TungkuLink, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam and CNRS, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Gilles Le Moguédec
- Université Montpellier II, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, INRA, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, Biology Department, University of Brunei Darussalam, TungkuLink, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam and CNRS, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - David J Marshall
- Université Montpellier II, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, INRA, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, Biology Department, University of Brunei Darussalam, TungkuLink, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam and CNRS, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Laurence Gaume
- Université Montpellier II, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, INRA, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France, Biology Department, University of Brunei Darussalam, TungkuLink, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam and CNRS, UMR AMAP: Botanique et bioinformatique de l'architecture des plantes, CIRAD TA A51/PS2 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France
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Chou LY, Clarke CM, Dykes GA. Bacterial communities associated with the pitcher fluids of three Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) pitcher plant species growing in the wild. Arch Microbiol 2014; 196:709-17. [PMID: 25005571 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-014-1011-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 06/06/2014] [Accepted: 06/28/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Nepenthes pitcher plants produce modified jug-shaped leaves to attract, trap and digest insect prey. We used 16S rDNA cloning and sequencing to compare bacterial communities in pitcher fluids of each of three species, namely Nepenthes ampullaria, Nepenthes gracilis and Nepenthes mirabilis, growing in the wild. In contrast to previous greenhouse-based studies, we found that both opened and unopened pitchers harbored bacterial DNA. Pitchers of N. mirabilis had higher bacterial diversity as compared to other Nepenthes species. The composition of the bacterial communities could be different between pitcher types for N. mirabilis (ANOSIM: R = 0.340, p < 0.05). Other Nepenthes species had similar bacterial composition between pitcher types. SIMPER showed that more than 50 % of the bacterial taxa identified from the open pitchers of N. mirabilis were not found in other groups. Our study suggests that bacteria in N. mirabilis are divided into native and nonnative groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Yiung Chou
- School of Science, Monash University, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 46150, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
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Buch F, Pauchet Y, Rott M, Mithöfer A. Characterization and heterologous expression of a PR-1 protein from traps of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes mirabilis. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2014; 100:43-50. [PMID: 24534104 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Revised: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2014] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Carnivorous plants capture and digest prey to obtain additional nutrients. Therefore, different trapping mechanisms were developed in different species. Plants of the genus Nepenthes possess pitfall-traps filled with a digestive fluid, which is secreted by the plants themselves. This pitcher fluid is composed of various enzymes to digest the captured prey. Besides hydrolytic enzymes, defense-related proteins have been identified in the fluid. The present study describes the identification and heterologous expression of a pathogenesis-related protein, NmPR-1, from pitchers of Nepenthes mirabilis with features that are unusual for PR-1 proteins. In particular, it was proven to be highly glycosylated and, furthermore, it exhibited antibacterial instead of antifungal activities. These properties are probably due to the specific environment of the pitcher fluid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Buch
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Yannick Pauchet
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Matthias Rott
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Axel Mithöfer
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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Biteau F, Nisse E, Miguel S, Hannewald P, Bazile V, Gaume L, Mignard B, Hehn A, Bourgaud F. A simple SDS-PAGE protein pattern from pitcher secretions as a new tool to distinguish Nepenthes species (Nepenthaceae). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2013; 100:2478-84. [PMID: 24302695 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1300145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Carnivorous plants have always fascinated scientists because these plants are able to attract, capture, and digest animal prey using their remarkable traps that contain digestive secretions. Nepenthes is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with 120 species described thus far. Despite an outstanding diversity of trap designs, many species are often confused with each other and remain difficult to classify because they resemble pitchers or of the occurrence of interspecific hybrids. METHODS Here, we propose a new method to easily distinguish Nepenthes species based on a SDS PAGE protein pattern analysis of their pitcher secretions. Intraspecific comparisons were performed among specimens growing in different environmental conditions to ascertain the robustness of this method. KEY RESULTS Our results show that, at the juvenile stage and in the absence of prey in the pitcher, an examined species is characterized by a specific and stable profile, whatever the environmental conditions. CONCLUSIONS The method we describe here can be used as a reliable tool to easily distinguish between Nepenthes species and to help with potential identification based on the species-specific protein pattern of their pitcher secretions, which is complementary to the monograph information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flore Biteau
- Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire Agronomie et Environnement, UMR 1121, 2 Avenue de la forêt de Haye-TSA 40602 - F54518 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France
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Michalko J, Socha P, Mészáros P, Blehová A, Libantová J, Moravčíková J, Matušíková I. Glucan-rich diet is digested and taken up by the carnivorous sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.): implication for a novel role of plant β-1,3-glucanases. PLANTA 2013; 238:715-725. [PMID: 23832529 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-013-1925-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Carnivory in plants evolved as an adaptation strategy to nutrient-poor environments. Thanks to specialized traps, carnivorous plants can gain nutrients from various heterotrophic sources such as small insects. Digestion in traps requires a coordinated action of several hydrolytic enzymes that break down complex substances into simple absorbable nutrients. Among these, several pathogenesis-related proteins including β-1,3-glucanases have previously been identified in digestive fluid of some carnivorous species. Here we show that a single acidic endo-β-1,3-glucanase of ~50 kDa is present in the digestive fluid of the flypaper-trapped sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.). The enzyme is inducible with a complex plant β-glucan laminarin from which it releases simple saccharides when supplied to leaves as a substrate. Moreover, thin-layer chromatography of digestive exudates showed that the simplest degradation products (especially glucose) are taken up by the leaves. These results for the first time point on involvement of β-1,3-glucanases in digestion of carnivorous plants and demonstrate the uptake of saccharide-based compounds by traps. Such a strategy could enable the plant to utilize other types of nutritional sources e.g., pollen grains, fungal spores or detritus from environment. Possible multiple roles of β-1,3-glucanases in the digestive fluid of carnivorous sundew are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaroslav Michalko
- Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, P.O. Box 39A, 950 07, Nitra, Slovak Republic,
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