Induced production of antifungal naphthoquinones in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana.

Nepenthes spp. are carnivorous plants that have developed insect capturing traps, evolved by specific modification of the leaf tips, and are able to utilize insect degradation products as nutritional precursors. A chitin-induced antifungal ability, based on the production and secretion to the trap liquid of droserone and 5-O-methyldroserone, is described here.

Isolation and characterization of chitinase genes from pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes khasiana.

The genus Nepenthes represents carnivorous plants with pitcher traps capable of efficient prey capture and digestion. The possible involvement of plant chitinases in this process was studied in Nepenthes khasiana. Two different types of endochitinases were identified in the liquid of closed traps exhibiting substrate specificity for either long chitin polymers or N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) oligomers.