The Venus Flytrap's Digestion (IMAGE)

University of Würzburg

The Venus Flytrap's Digestion

Caption

The traps' insides are lined with red glands (a) that work like a plant 'stomach' after a prey is caught. The glands secrete a digestive enzyme. This secretory mechanism was shown at the vesicle level in plants for the first time (b). The model illustration (c) shows that activated glands absorb calcium (Ca2+), thereby triggering the jasmonate signalling pathway and the secreting of hydrochloric acid (HCL) and digestive enzymes.

Credit

(Picture: Sönke Scherzer/Dirk Becker)

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