Carnivorous plant evolution: is a killer defense always the best option?

This article comments on: Pavlovič A, Koller J, Vrobel O, Chamrád I, Lenobel R, and Tarkowski P. 2024. Is the co-option of jasmonate signalling for botanical carnivory a universal trait for all carnivorous plants? Journal of Experimental Botany 75, 334–349.

The Genome Sequences of 17 Species of Carnivorous Plants.

We present the genome sequences of 17 species of carnivorous plants. Illumina sequencing was performed on genetic material from cultivated individuals. The reads were assembled using a de novo method followed by a finishing step.

Mutational analysis of mechanosensitive ion channels in the carnivorous Venus flytrap plant.

How the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) evolved the remarkable ability to sense, capture, and digest animal prey for nutrients has long puzzled the scientific community. Recent genome and transcriptome sequencing studies have provided clues to the genes thought to play a role in these tasks. However, proving a causal link between these and any aspect of the plant's hunting behavior has been challenging due to the genetic intractability of this non-model organism.

Leaf hydraulic maze: Abscisic acid effects on bundle sheath, palisade, and spongy mesophyll conductance.

Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) facilitates the supply of water, enabling continual CO2 uptake while maintaining plant water status. We hypothesized that bundle sheath and mesophyll cells play key roles in regulating the radial flow of water out of the xylem by responding to abscisic acid (ABA). Thus, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that are insensitive to ABA in their bundle sheath (BSabi) and mesophyll (MCabi) cells.

Dynamic calcium signals mediate the feeding response of the carnivorous sundew plant.

Some of the most spectacular examples of botanical carnivory-in which predator plants catch and digest animals presumably to supplement the nutrient-poor soils in which they grow-occur within the Droseraceae family. For example, sundews of the genus have evolved leaf movements and enzyme secretion to facilitate prey digestion. The molecular underpinnings of this behavior remain largely unknown; however, evidence suggests that prey-induced electrical impulses are correlated with movement and production of the defense hormone jasmonic acid (JA), which may alter gene expression.

Leaf cell-specific and single-cell transcriptional profiling reveals a role for the palisade layer in UV light protection.

Like other complex multicellular organisms, plants are composed of different cell types with specialized shapes and functions. For example, most laminar leaves consist of multiple photosynthetic cell types. These cell types include the palisade mesophyll, which typically forms one or more cell layers on the adaxial side of the leaf.

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

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.

Stress-Induced Neural Plasticity Mediated by Glial GPCR REMO-1 Promotes C. elegans Adaptive Behavior.

Animal nervous systems remodel following stress. Although global stress-dependent changes are well documented, contributions of individual neuron remodeling events to animal behavior modification are challenging to study. In response to environmental insults, C.

Big Data to the Bench: Transcriptome Analysis for Undergraduates.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based methods are revolutionizing biology. Their prevalence requires biologists to be increasingly knowledgeable about computational methods to manage the enormous scale of data. As such, early introduction to NGS analysis and conceptual connection to wet-lab experiments is crucial for training young scientists.

The epidermis coordinates auxin-induced stem growth in response to shade.

Growth of a complex multicellular organism requires coordinated changes in diverse cell types. These cellular changes generate organs of the correct size, shape, and functionality. In plants, the growth hormone auxin induces stem elongation in response to shade; however, which cell types of the stem perceive the auxin signal and contribute to organ growth is poorly understood.

Cotyledon-Generated Auxin Is Required for Shade-Induced Hypocotyl Growth in Brassica rapa.

Plant architecture is optimized for the local light environment. In response to foliar shade or neighbor proximity (low red to far-red light), some plant species exhibit shade-avoiding phenotypes, including increased stem and hypocotyl growth, which increases the likelihood of outgrowing competitor plants. If shade persists, early flowering and the reallocation of growth resources to stem elongation ultimately affect the yield of harvestable tissues in crop species.

Sensory organ remodeling in Caenorhabditis elegans requires the zinc-finger protein ZTF-16.

Neurons and glia display remarkable morphological plasticity, and remodeling of glia may facilitate neuronal shape changes. The molecular basis and control of glial shape changes is not well understood. In response to environmental stress, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans enters an alternative developmental state, called dauer, in which glia and neurons of the amphid sensory organ remodel.

Glia delimit shape changes of sensory neuron receptive endings in C. elegans.

Neuronal receptive endings, such as dendritic spines and sensory protrusions, are structurally remodeled by experience. How receptive endings acquire their remodeled shapes is not well understood. In response to environmental stressors, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans enters a diapause state, termed dauer, which is accompanied by remodeling of sensory neuron receptive endings.

Assisted morphogenesis: glial control of dendrite shapes.

Neurons display a myriad of dendritic architectures, reflecting their diverse roles in information processing and transduction in the nervous system. Recent findings suggest that neuronal signals may not account for all aspects of dendrite morphogenesis. Observations from C.

Synaptogenesis: new roles for an old player.

The control of synapse formation and shape is important for establishing complex brain circuitry. New evidence now suggests that a component of a synaptic ion channel complex has an unexpected role in these processes.

The bHLH/Per-Arnt-Sim transcription factor SIM2 regulates muscle transcript myomesin2 via a novel, non-canonical E-box sequence.

Despite a growing number of descriptive studies that show Single-minded 2 (Sim2) is not only essential for murine survival, but also upregulated in colon, prostate and pancreatic tumours, there is a lack of direct target genes identified for this basic helix-loop-helix/PAS transcription factor. We have performed a set of microarray experiments aimed at identifying genes that are differentially regulated by SIM2, and successfully verified that the Myomesin2 (Myom2) gene is SIM2-responsive. Although SIM2 has been reported to be a transcription repressor, we find that SIM2 induces transcription of Myom2 and activates the Myom2 promoter sequence when co-expressed with the heterodimeric partner protein, ARNT1, in human embryonic kidney cells.