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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Isolation of Viable Multicellular Glands from Tissue of the Carnivorous Plant, Nepenthes
Published on: December 22, 2013
Genome of the pitcher plant Cephalotus reveals genetic changes associated with carnivory
Kenji Fukushima1,2,3, Xiaodong Fang4,5, David Alvarez-Ponce6
1National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
Abstract:
Carnivorous plants exploit animals as a nutritional source and have inspired long-standing questions about the origin and evolution of carnivory-related traits. To investigate the molecular bases of carnivory, we sequenced the genome of the heterophyllous pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis, in which we succeeded in regulating the developmental switch between carnivorous and non-carnivorous leaves. Transcriptome comparison of the two leaf types and gene repertoire analysis identified genetic changes associated with prey attraction, capture, digestion and nutrient absorption. Analysis of digestive fluid proteins from C. follicularis and three other carnivorous plants with independent carnivorous origins revealed repeated co-options of stress-responsive protein lineages coupled with convergent amino acid substitutions to acquire digestive physiology. These results imply constraints on the available routes to evolve plant carnivory.
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