Abstract
The plastid genomes of four related carnivorous plants (Drosera regia, Drosera erythrorhiza, Aldrovanda vesiculosa, and Dionaea muscipula) were sequenced to examine changes potentially induced by the transition to carnivory. The plastid genomes of the Droseraceae show multiple rearrangements, gene losses, and large expansions or contractions of the inverted repeat. All the ndh genes are lost or nonfunctional, as well as in some of the species, clpP1, ycf1, ycf2 and some tRNA genes. Uniquely, among land plants, the trnK gene has no intron. Carnivory in the Droseraceae coincides with changes in plastid gene content similar to those induced by parasitism and mycoheterotrophy, suggesting parallel changes in chloroplast function due to the similar switch from autotrophy to (mixo-) heterotrophy. A molecular phylogeny of the taxa based on all shared plastid genes indicates that the “snap-traps” of Aldrovanda and Dionaea have a common origin.
Highlights
IntroductionCarnivory is most successful in open habitats on nutrientpoor soils and in oligotrophic aquatic environments, where it is likely to provide a competitive advantage (Givnish et al.1984; Pavlovic and Saganova 2015)
Carnivorous plants derive a range of amino acids, peptides, macro, and micro-nutrients from captured prey, and studies on numerous species indicate that significant resources are invested in the production of trapping organs (Plummer and Kethley 1964; Dixon et al 1980; Adamec 1997; Adlassnig et al 2012; Adamec 2013; Fasbender et al 2017).Carnivory is most successful in open habitats on nutrientpoor soils and in oligotrophic aquatic environments, where it is likely to provide a competitive advantage (Givnish et al.1984; Pavlovic and Saganova 2015)
Droseraceae is the largest family of carnivorous plants, comprising three extant genera with distinct morphologies: Drosera, Dionaea, and Aldrovanda
Summary
Carnivory is most successful in open habitats on nutrientpoor soils and in oligotrophic aquatic environments, where it is likely to provide a competitive advantage (Givnish et al.1984; Pavlovic and Saganova 2015). It has arisen independently at least nine times in five different orders (Caryophyllales, Ericales, Lamiales, Oxalidales, and Poales). Droseraceae is the largest family of carnivorous plants, comprising three extant genera with distinct morphologies: Drosera, Dionaea, and Aldrovanda. Aldrovanda and Dionaea are both monotypic, Drosera rivals Utricularia of the Lentibulariaceae as the largest carnivorous genus, with around 250 members (Gonella et al 2016; Fleischmann et al 2017). Members of the cosmopolitan Drosera vary extensively in their specific morphology, but all have highly modified leaves lined with tentaclelike glandular trichomes that secrete a sticky substance to ensnare and digest prey
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