A Japanese research team has unraveled the Venus flytrap's detailed mechanism to detect insects using its touch sensor.
While humans have known for about 200 years that the carnivorous plant detects insects using its sensory hairs, the mechanism at a cellular level had yet to be uncovered.
The Venus flytrap catches its prey by closing its clam-shaped leaves.
Hiraku Suda, an assistant professor at Saitama University, Masatsugu Toyota, a professor of the university, and other members of the team focused on changes in intracellular calcium ions and electrical potential.
The team incorporated a type of protein that glows according to the calcium ion levels into the cells of the Venus flytrap. It also developed equipment to measure changes in the electrical potential in the cells.
The team studied the Venus flytrap's molecular reaction to stimulation in its sensory hairs. The calcium ion levels increased when cells at the base of the sensory hairs were exposed to touch stimulus. The electrical potential also changed.
While only small electrical potential changes were observed for a weak stimulus, a strong stimulus, equivalent to contact by an insect, resulted in a large electrical spike, which reached the plant's leaf cells. This, paired with changes in calcium ion levels, caused the leaves to shut, the team said.
The team also found that a strong stimulus does not cause a large electrical spike if ion channel DmMSL10 is rendered inactive, concluding that DmMSL10 is crucial in the plant's mechanical sensing.
The team's findings were published in British journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.
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