An S-like ribonuclease gene is used to generate a trap-leaf enzyme in the carnivorous plant Drosera adelae.
Carnivorous plants usually grow in nutrient-deficient habitats, and thus they partly depend on insects for nitrogen and phosphate needed for amino acid and nucleotide synthesis. We report that a sticky digestive liquid from a sundew, Drosera adelae, contains an abundant amount of an S-like ribonuclease (RNase) that shows high amino acid-sequence similarity to S-like RNases induced by phosphate starvation or wounding in normal plants. By giving leaves an RNase "coat", D. adelae seems to achieve two requirements simultaneously to adapt itself to its specific surroundings: it obtains phosphates from insects, and defends itself against pathogen attack.
Okabe
Takahiro
T
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Konan University, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Japan.
Yoshimoto
Iwakiri
I
Hitoshi
Mori
M
Ogawa
Tomoshisa
T
Ohyama
Takashi
T
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D029787:Drosera / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000201:enzymology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D010940:Plant Proteins; D012260:Ribonucleases