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The article mentioned that they began to suspect the plant was carnivorous when they noticed it was missing a specific gene. I'd be curious to know what that ge
by gautamcgoel 5y ago
The article mentioned that they began to suspect the plant was carnivorous when they noticed it was missing a specific gene. I'd be curious to know what that gene is, and why it's linked to carnivorous plants.
- ogwh 5y agoJust speculating but it might have something to do with nutrient absorption. Much in the same way we lost the ability to synthesise vitamin C and now take it in from our diet, these plants may gain a nutrient from their prey that they no longer need to produce themselves.
- IntrepidWorm 5y agoNot a geneticist or a botanist here, but I would assume that because it is carnivorous, it gains a particular set of nutrients from the fruit flies and thus does not need to absorb these compounds through the root system. The gene or set of genes responsible for processing nutrients through the root would thus not be needed and would eventually be deactivated or disappear entirely over the evolution of the species.
- iammisc 5y agoCarnivorous plants turn carnivorous because they can't get enough nitrogen from the soil usually. Thus, in these populations, it's likely that the additional genes favoring carnivory evolved first and then, with that in place, the genes for nitrogen absorption would not confer any advantage or disadvantage so would be slowly lost by genetic drift.