BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Carnivorous plants can enhance photosynthetic efficiency in response to prey nutrient uptake, but the underlying mechanisms of increased photosynthesis are largely unknown. Here we investigated photosynthesis in the pitcher plant Nepenthes × ventrata in response to different prey-derived and root mineral nutrition to reveal photosynthetic constrains. METHODS: Nutrient-stressed plants were irrigated with full inorganic solution or fed with four different insects: wasps, ants, beetles or flies. Full dissection of photosynthetic traits was achieved by means of gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and immunodetection of photosynthesis-related proteins. Leaf biochemical and anatomical parameters together with mineral composition, nitrogen and carbon isotopic discrimination of leaves and insects were also analysed. KEY RESULTS: Mesophyll diffusion was the major photosynthetic limitation for nutrient-stressed Nepenthes × ventrata, while biochemistry was the major photosynthetic limitation after nutrient application. The better nutrient status of insect-fed and root-fertilized treatments increased chlorophyll, pigment-protein complexes and Rubisco content. As a result, both photochemical and carboxylation potential were enhanced, increasing carbon assimilation. Different nutrient application affected growth, and root-fertilized treatment led to the investment of more biomass in leaves instead of pitchers. CONCLUSIONS: The study resolved a 35-year-old hypothesis that carnivorous plants increase photosynthetic assimilation via the investment of prey-derived nitrogen in the photosynthetic apparatus. The equilibrium between biochemical and mesophyll limitations of photosynthesis is strongly affected by the nutrient treatment.

Department of Biophysics Centre of Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research Faculty of Science Palacký University in Olomouc Šlechtitelů CZ Czech Republic

Research Group on Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions Universitat de les Illes Balears INAGEA Palma Balearic Islands Spain

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doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaa092 PubMed

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Alternative oxidase (AOX) in the carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes: what is it good for?

Recent ecophysiological, biochemical and evolutional insights into plant carnivory