Plant hormones (Literature sources on phytohormones and plant signalling)

Authors: Lubomír Adamec, Ildikó Matušíková and Andrej Pavlovič.

Annals of Botany (2021)

Abstract: "Background - Carnivorous plants are an ecological group of ca. 810 vascular species which capture and digest animal prey, absorb prey-derived nutrients and utilize them to enhance their growth and development. Extant carnivorous plants have evolved in at least ten independent lineages and their adaptive traits represent an example of structural and functional convergence. Plant carnivory is a result of complex adaptations to mostly nutrient-poor, wet and sunny habitats when the benefits of carnivory exceed the costs. With a boost in interest and extensive research in recent years, many aspects of these adaptations have been clarified (at least partly), but many remain unknown. Scope - We provide some most recent insights into substantial ecophysiological, biochemical and evolutional particulars of plant carnivory from the functional viewpoint. We focus on those processes and traits in carnivorous plants associated with their ecological characterization, mineral nutrition, cost-benefit relationships, functioning of digestive enzymes and regulation of the hunting cycle in traps. We elucidate mechanisms by which uptake of prey-derived nutrients leads to stimulation of photosynthesis and root nutrient uptake. Conclusions - Utilization of prey-derived mineral (mainly N and P) and organic nutrients is highly beneficial for plants and increases the photosynthetic rate in leaves as a prerequisite for faster plant growth. Whole-genome and tandem gene duplications brought gene material for diversification into carnivorous functions and enabled recruitment of defense-related genes. Possible mechanisms for the evolution of digestive enzymes are summarized and a comprehensive picture on the biochemistry and regulation of prey decomposition and prey-derived nutrient uptake is provided."

Authors: Rainer Hedrich and Kenji Fukushima.

Annual Review of Plant Biology (2021)

Abstract: "Charles Darwin recognized that carnivorous plants thrive in nutrient-poor soil by capturing animals. Although the concept of botanical carnivory has been known for nearly 150 years, its molecular mechanisms and evolutionary origins have not been well understood until recently. In the last decade, technical advances have fueled the genome and transcriptome sequencings of active and passive hunters, leading to a better understanding of the traits associated with the carnivorous syndrome, from trap leaf development and prey digestion to nutrient absorption, exemplified by the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis), and bladderwort (Utricularia gibba). The repurposing of defense-related genes is an important trend in the evolution of plant carnivory. In this review, using the Venus flytrap as a representative of the carnivorous plants, we summarize the molecular mechanisms underlying their ability to attract, trap, and digest prey and discuss the origins of plant carnivory in relation to their genomic evolution."