Resting electrical network activity in traps of the aquatic carnivorous plants of the genera Aldrovanda and Utricularia.
In this study the MEA (multielectrode array) system was used to record electrical responses of intact and halved traps, and other trap-free tissues of two aquatic carnivorous plants, Aldrovanda vesiculosa and Utricularia reflexa. They exhibit rapid trap movements and their traps contain numerous glands. Spontaneous generation of spikes with quite uniform shape, propagating across the recording area, has been observed for all types of sample. In the analysis of the electrical network, higher richer synchronous activity was observed relative to other plant species and organs previously described in the literature: indeed, the time intervals between the synchronized clusters (the inter-spike intervals) create organized patterns and the propagation times vary non-linearly with the distance due to this synchronization. Interestingly, more complex electrical activity was found in traps than in trap-free organs, supporting the hypothesis that the nature of the electrical activity may reflect the anatomical and functional complexity of different organs. Finally, the electrical activity of functionally different traps of Aldrovanda (snapping traps) and Utricularia (suction traps) was compared and some differences in the features of signal propagation were found. According to these results, a possible use of the MEA system for the study of different trap closure mechanisms is proposed.
LINV, Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA), University of Florence, viale delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Elisa
E
Masi
LINV, Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA), University of Florence, viale delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.|CNR, National Institute of Optics (INO), L.go E. Fermi 6, 50125 Florence, Italy.
Marzena
M
Ciszak
LINV, Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA), University of Florence, viale delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Ilaria
I
Colzi
Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Section of Plant Ecology, Dukelská 135, CZ-379 82 Třeboň, Czech Republic.
Lubomir
L
Adamec
LINV, Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA), University of Florence, viale delle Idee 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Stefano
S
Mancuso
D000200:Action Potentials; D031257:Droseraceae / Q000502:physiology*; D000068378:Lamiales / Q000502:physiology*