A carnivorous sundew plant prefers protein over chitin as a source of nitrogen from its traps
Language English Country France Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article
PubMed
26998942
DOI
10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.03.008
PII: S0981-9428(16)30074-2
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Carnivorous plant, Chitin, Chlorophyll, Drosera, Nitrogen uptake, Photosynthesis, Plant chitinase,
- MeSH
- Pigments, Biological metabolism MeSH
- Biomass MeSH
- Chitin pharmacology MeSH
- Drosera drug effects metabolism MeSH
- Nitrogen pharmacology MeSH
- Nitrogen Isotopes MeSH
- Plant Leaves drug effects metabolism MeSH
- Serum Albumin, Bovine pharmacology MeSH
- Cattle MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Cattle MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Names of Substances
- Pigments, Biological MeSH
- Chitin MeSH
- Nitrogen MeSH
- Nitrogen Isotopes MeSH
- Serum Albumin, Bovine MeSH
Carnivorous plants have evolved in nutrient-poor wetland habitats. They capture arthropod prey, which is an additional source of plant growth limiting nutrients. One of them is nitrogen, which occurs in the form of chitin and proteins in prey carcasses. In this study, the nutritional value of chitin and protein and their digestion traits in the carnivorous sundew Drosera capensis L. were estimated using stable nitrogen isotope abundance. Plants fed on chitin derived 49% of the leaf nitrogen from chitin, while those fed on the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) derived 70% of its leaf nitrogen from this. Moreover, leaf nitrogen content doubled in protein-fed in comparison to chitin-fed plants indicating that the proteins were digested more effectively in comparison to chitin and resulted in significantly higher chlorophyll contents. The surplus chlorophyll and absorbed nitrogen from the protein digestion were incorporated into photosynthetic proteins - the light harvesting antennae of photosystem II. The incorporation of insect nitrogen into the plant photosynthetic apparatus may explain the increased rate of photosynthesis and plant growth after feeding. This general response in many genera of carnivorous plants has been reported in many previous studies.
References provided by Crossref.org
Regulation of enzyme activities in carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes
