Evolution of carnivory in angiosperms

Abstract

Molecular systematics demonstrate that carnivorous plants have evolved at least ten times independently, in five orders, 12 families, and 19 genera of angiosperms. Carnivory has arisen once in Nepenthales (a segregate of Caryophyllales), once in Oxalidales, twice in Ericales, and three times each in Lamiales and Poales. Estimated crown ages of these ten lineages range from 1.9 to 81 million years (Mya), with the youngest three lineages (1.9 – 2.6 Mya) being all single genera of Poales, and all involving one or two carnivorous species in an otherwise noncarnivorous group. We now understand the evolution of carnivorous plants based on knowing when and (often) where they diverged from specific noncarnivorous ancestors; inferring which traits were gained, which were retained, and which of the latter may have been crucial preadaptations for carnivory; and identifying the evolutionary drivers of carnivory by evaluating the ecological differences between carnivorous plants and their noncarnivorous relatives.

Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Tissue-Specific Metabolite Compositions in Leaf Blade and Traps of Carnivorous Nepenthes Plants

“…Subsequently, plant-derived hydrolytic enzymes inside the fluid digest the prey and generate absorbable forms of nutrients, which are taken up and delivered further to the plant body through bi-functional glands [2,3]. In Nepenthes species, the whole leaf underwent an extensive metamorphosis: the typical leaf lamina (synonym: leaf blade) turned into a pitcher for catching prey, the petiole into a tendril to climb, and the leaf base into a basal leaf-derived leaf blade (from now on: leaf blade) substituting the lamina to ensure photosynthesis ( Figure 2) [4,5]. These passive traps attract prey to the pitcher opening, the peristome, which is extremely slippery for insects causing them to fall into the pitcher.…”

“…Moreover, the pitcher fluid is poor in inorganic nutrients and contains secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties, i.e., naphthoquinones; droserone and 5-O-methyl droserone are described for N. khasiana [18] and plumbagin and 7-methyl-juglon for N. ventricosa [16]. These compounds are not widespread in plants but very often occur in carnivorous plants of the order Nepenthales [19], a sensu stricto sister group to Caryophyllales [5]. For Nepenthes, some of these naphthoquinones were described as inducible by chitin and prey [18,20], suggesting a functional role after prey catch.…”

Genomes of the Venus Flytrap and Close Relatives Unveil the Roots of Plant Carnivory

“…Carnivorous plants attract, capture, and digest small-animal prey with the consequent active uptake and usage of the preyderived nutrients [1,2]. Despite the high level of specialization, plant carnivory has evolved several times independently in flowering plants [3,4]. This includes the evolution of a wide range of capture organs, with trapping mechanisms frequently including rapid movements: the touch-sensitive snap traps in Dionaea muscipula (Di.…”

Eocene origin, Miocene diversification and intercontinental dispersal of the genusDrosera(Droseraceae)

“…The evolution of carnivory in the plant kingdom poses an exciting biological phenomenon and has fascinated biologists ever since Charles Darwin (Briggs 2009, Thorogood 2017. Carnivory has evolved ten times independently in five different orders among the flowering plants (Fleischmann et al, 2018). Carnivorous plants are distributed in open, moist sites, where they acquire the nutrients from trapping insects (Givnish 2014).…”