title: Adaptive radiation with regard to nutrient sequestration strategies in the carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes.
abstract: Carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes have evolved a great diversity of pitcher morphologies. Selective pressures for maximizing nutrient uptake have driven speciation and diversification of the genus in a process known as adaptive radiation. This leads to the evolution of pitchers adapted to specific and often bizarre source of nutrients, which are not strictly animal-derived. One example is Nepenthes ampullaria with unusual growth pattern and pitcher morphology what enables the plant to capture a leaf litter from the canopy above. We showed that the plant benefits from nitrogen uptake by increased rate of photosynthesis and growth what may provide competitive advantage over others co-habiting plants. A possible impact of such specialization toward hybridization, an important mechanism in speciation, is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia. pavlovic@fns.uniba.sk
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pavlovič
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010788:Photosynthesis; D018515:Plant Leaves; D052583:Sarraceniaceae; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen