S5.22 Little Shop of Genetic Horrors: the evolution of carnivorous plants
Hello, and welcome to Genetics Unzipped - the Genetics Society podcast, with me, Dr Sally Le Page. In this episode we’re looking at carnivorous plants; how do they work, what lives inside the digestive juices, and even a future with carnivorous crops.
There’s something unnatural about carnivorous plants. We’re so used to plants being at the bottom of the food chain, that to see them trapping, killing and eating animals seems to go against the laws of nature. But of course, carnivory in plants is very real and has evolved multiple times in response to a lack of nutrients.
Image courtesy of Ulrike Bauer
Ulrike Bauer: killing on a knife edge
One group of carnivorous plants are the pitcher plants; that’s pitcher as in jug, not picture as in photo, and they’re usually found in warm, tropical habitats around the world. Dr Ulrike Bauer studies these plants at the University of Bristol to find out more about how they’re able to successfully trap insects so easily.
Kadeem Gilbert: life in a death trap
We’ve heard a lot from Ulrike about the slippery sides of the pitcher plant that cause insects to fall into the bottom of the champagne flute, but what happens to them once they’ve fallen in?
Dr Kadeem Gilbert is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at Michegan State University who has been researching the pool of digestive juices. And it turns out that it’s not only a place where insects drown and get digested by the pitcher plant, it’s also home to a whole community of living things that are able to survive despite the harsh conditions
Image courtesy of Kadeem Gilbert
Image courtesy of Tanya Renner
Tanya Renner: Creating carnivorous ketchup
And finally we’re moving away from pitcher plants and looking at another group of carnivorous plants that trap their prey in a completely different way, and that’s the sundews. I had a chat with Dr Tanya Renner from Pennsylvania State University whose interested not only in how these plants evolved but also whether we can add carnivorous genes into non carnivorous plants.
That’s all for now. Thanks to all our guests; Ulrike Bauer, Kadeem Gilbert and Tanya Renner, and we’ll be back next time when Kat will be investigating the genetics behind animal instincts.
For more information about this podcast including show notes, transcripts, links, references, music credits and everything else head over to geneticsunzipped.com You can find us on Twitter @geneticsunzip and please do take a moment to leave us a rating in the Spotify app or review us on Apple podcasts - it really makes a difference and helps more people discover the show.
This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written, presented and produced by me, Sally Le Page. It is made by First Create the Media for The Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies dedicated to promoting research, training, teaching and public engagement in all areas of genetics. You can find out more and apply to join at genetics.org.uk. Our theme music was composed by Dan Pollard, the logo was designed by James Mayall and audio production was by Emma Werner. Thanks for listening, and until next time, goodbye.
