Detection of methanogenic archaea in the pitchers of the Northern pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea ).

Carnivorous plants of the genus Sarracenia rely on microorganisms in their pitchers to decompose drowned insects. The environment inside pitchers is considered to be aerobic; however, there might be zones, such as at the bottom of the pitcher, where anaerobic conditions develop. Samples of the sediment at the bottom of Sarracenia purpurea pitchers were analyzed for the presence of archaea, using PCR and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.

Bacterial diversity in three distinct sub-habitats within the pitchers of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea.

Pitcher plants have been widely used in ecological studies of food webs; however, their bacterial communities are poorly characterized. Pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea contain several distinct sub-habitats, namely the bottom sediment, the liquid, and the internal pitcher wall. We hypothesized that those three sub-habitats within pitcher plants are inhabited by distinct bacterial populations.