Date: Wed, 08 Apr 1998 18:30:59 -0400 From: Jack Sullivan <jsulliva@eclipse.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1199$foo@default> Subject: First protozoa-trapping plant found (Genlisea)
That's the headline of a brief note submitted to the journal Nature (v.
392, 2 April 1998) by researchers at the Botanisches Institut der
Universitat Bonn. The senior author is Wilhelm Barthlott
(barthlott@uni-bonn.de).
The report concerns Genlisea, an ally of Pinguicula and Utricularia in
the Lentibulariaceae. It is found in S. America and tropical Africa in
nutrient-poor white sands and moist rock outcroppings. It is said to be
rare in the wild and difficult to cultivate.
The chlorophyll-free root-like organs grow in bundles up to 15 cm long.
These are actually subterranean leaves.
While it has been speculated that these leaves are actually traps, this
report confirms that the plants actually trap protozoa. Three species
were examined (G. aurea, G. violacea and G. margaretae). The leaves were
shown to attract the ciliate Blepharisma americana, probably by means of
a chemical attractant.
Degradative enzymes have been found in the related species G. africana,
so the conclusion is that the protozoans are digested. Radio tracer
studies with labeled protozoa showed incorporation of the label into the
plant's leaves.
-- Jack Sullivan
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