Genome of the pitcher plant Cephalotus reveals genetic changes associated with carnivory

Authors: Fukushima, Kenji and Fang, Xiaodong and Alvarez-Ponce, David and Cai, Huimin and Carretero-Paulet, Lorenzo and Chen, Cui and Chang, Tien-Hao and Farr, Kimberly M and Fujita, Tomomichi and Hiwatashi, Yuji and Hoshi, Yoshikazu and Imai, Takamasa and Kasahara, Masahiro and Librado, Pablo; Mao, Likai and Mori, Hitoshi and Nishiyama, Tomoaki and Nozawa, Masafumi and Pálfalvi, Gergo and Pollard, Stephen T. and Rozas, Julio and Sánchez-Gracia, Alejandro and Sankoff, David and Shibata, Tomoko F. and Shigenobu, Shuji and Sumikawa, Naomi and Uzawa, Taketoshi and Xie, Meiying and Zheng, Chunfang and Pollock, David D. and Albert, Victor A. and Li, Shuaicheng and Hasebe, Mitsuyasu

Carnivorous plants exploit animals as a nutritional source and have inspired long-standing questions about the origin and evolution of carnivory-related traits. To investigate the molecular bases of carnivory, we sequenced the genome of the heterophyllous pitcher plant Cephulotus folliculnris, in which we succeeded in regulating the developmental switch between carnivorous and non-carnivorous leaves. Transcriptome comparison of the two leaf types and gene repertoire analysis identi- fied genetic changes associated with prey attraction, capture, digestion and nutrient absorption. Analysis of digestive fluid proteins from C. folliculnris and three other carnivorous plants with independent carnivorous origins revealed repeated co-options of stress-responsive protein lineages coupled with convergent amino acid substitutions to acquire digestive physiology. These results imply constraints on the available routes to evolve plant carnivory.

Journal: Nature ecology & evolution
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0059
Year: 2017

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