RT Journal
A1 Bemm, Felix
A1 Becker, Dirk
A1 Larisch, Christina
A1 Kreuzer, Ines
A1 Escalante-Perez, Maria
A1 Schulze, Waltraud X.
A1 Ankenbrand, Markus
A1 Van de Weyer, Anna-Lena
A1 Krol, Elzbieta
A1 Al-Rasheid, Khaled A.
A1 Mithöfer, Axel
A1 Weber, Andreas P.
A1 Schultz, Jörg
A1 Hedrich, Rainer
T1 Venus flytrap carnivorous lifestyle builds on herbivore defense strategies
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2016 
FD June 01 
VO 26 
IS 6 
SP 812 
OP 825 
DO 10.1101/gr.202200.115 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/26/6/812.abstract 
AB Although the concept of botanical carnivory has been known since Darwin's time, the molecular mechanisms that allow animal feeding remain unknown, primarily due to a complete lack of genomic information. Here, we show that the transcriptomic landscape of the Dionaea trap is dramatically shifted toward signal transduction and nutrient transport upon insect feeding, with touch hormone signaling and protein secretion prevailing. At the same time, a massive induction of general defense responses is accompanied by the repression of cell death–related genes/processes. We hypothesize that the carnivory syndrome of Dionaea evolved by exaptation of ancient defense pathways, replacing cell death with nutrient acquisition.