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Transcriptomic prey-capture responses in convergently evolved carnivorous pitcher plants.

Takanori Wakatake1, Kenji Fukushima1,2,3

  • 1Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, 97082, Germany.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Convergent evolution in pitcher plants Cephalotus and Nepenthes shows similar gene expression in functionally equivalent tissues. However, digestive enzyme gene regulation differs, highlighting unique molecular pathways in complex leaf development.

Keywords:
Cephalotus follicularisNepenthes graciliscarnivorous plantsconvergent evolutiondigestive proteinfeeding responsemolecular evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Plant Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Pitcher plants Cephalotus (Australian) and Nepenthes (Asian) display remarkable convergent evolution in their trapping pitchers.
  • These pitchers are among the most complex leaf structures in angiosperms, but the molecular basis for this convergence is poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the analogous pitcher phenotypes in Cephalotus and Nepenthes share common molecular underpinnings at the gene expression level.
  • To analyze gene expression evolution in Cephalotus follicularis in response to feeding, mirroring existing data from Nepenthes gracilis.

Main Methods:

  • Tissue-specific RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments were performed on Cephalotus follicularis.
  • Feeding treatments were applied to Cephalotus, and the resulting gene expression data were compared with existing datasets from Nepenthes gracilis.

Main Results:

  • Functionally similar tissues in both species exhibited similar gene expression profiles.
  • Both species showed common transcriptional activation of amino acid metabolism and protein synthesis pathways upon feeding.
  • Distinct transcriptional regulation was observed for digestive enzyme genes, and convergence in both expression and protein sequences was found in gland-specific genes.

Conclusions:

  • Convergent evolution of complex plant structures involves both shared and unique transcriptional components.
  • Independent evolution of analogous phenotypes can be shaped by integrating common and distinct molecular mechanisms.