Abstract
The explosive pollination mechanism of the prayer plants (Marantaceae) is unique among plants. After a tactile stimulus by a pollinator, the style curls up rapidly and mediates pollen exchange. It is still under discussion whether this explosive movement is released electrophysiologically, i.e. by a change in the membrane potential (as in Venus flytrap), or purely mechanically. In the present study, electrophysiological experiments are conducted to clarify the mechanism. Artificial release experiments (chemical and electrical) and electrophysiological measurements were conducted with two phylogenetically distant species, Goeppertia bachemiana (E. Morren) Borchs. & S. Suárez and Donax canniformis (G. Forst.) K. Schum. Electric responses recorded after style release by extracellular measurements are characterised as variation potentials due to their long repolarization phase and lack of self-perpetuation. In both species, chemical and electric stimulations do not release the style movement. It is concluded that the style movement in Marantaceae is released mechanically by relieving the tissue pressure. Accordingly, the variation potential is an effect of the movement and not its cause. The study exemplarily shows that fast movements in plants are not necessarily initiated by electric changes of the membrane as known from the Venus flytrap.
Highlights
Fast movements in plants have fascinated natural scientists for many decades
The present study aims to clarify the release process in the style movement of Marantaceae by experiment
Goeppertia bachemiana has a stiff hooded staminode increasing mechanical pressure on the style, while Donax canniformis has a thin hooded staminode which appears to be not strong enough to hold the style under tension (Fig 2A–2D)
Summary
Fast movements in plants have fascinated natural scientists for many decades. Underlying processes concerning perception of the stimulus and signal transduction were already addressed by Darwin He expected an electric signal mediating between stimulus and response in insectivorous plants (Drosera L. and Dionaea muscipula Ellis). Burdon-Sanders [1] tested this hypothesis for D. muscipula and measured electrical signals in plants for the first time. Such signals were characterised as action potentials by Stuhlman and Darden [2]. Examples for comparable fast plant movements are known from Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC. Examples for comparable fast plant movements are known from Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC. (Oxalidaceae) and Neptunia oleracea Lour. (Fabaceae) [3], Berberis vulgaris L
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