@phdthesis{Iosip2024,
  author    = {Iosip, Anda-Larisa},
  title     = {Molecular Mechanosensing Mechanisms of the Carnivorous Plant \(Dionaea\) \(muscipula\)},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-28764},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287649},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {Plants are able to sense mechanical forces in order to defend themselves against predators, for instance by synthesizing repellent compounds. Very few plants evolved extremely sensitive tactile abilities that allow them to perceive, interpret and respond by rapid movement in the milliseconds range. One such rarity is the charismatic Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) - a carnivorous plant which relies on its spectacular active trapping strategy to catch its prey. The snapping traps are equipped with touch-specialised trigger hairs, that upon bending elicit an action potential (AP). This electrical signal originates within the trigger hairs' mechanosensory cells and further propagates throughout the whole trap, alerting the plant of potential prey. Two APs triggered within thirty seconds will set off the trap and more than five APs will initiate the green stomach formation for prey decomposition and nutrient uptake. Neither the molecular components of the plant's AP nor the Venus flytrap's fast closure mechanism have been fully elucidated yet. Therefore, the general objective of this study is to expound on the molecular basis of touch perception: from AP initiation to trap closure and finally to stomach formation. The typical electrical signal in plants lasts for minutes and its shape is determined by the intensity of the mechanical force applied. In contrast, the Venus flytrap's one-second AP is of all-or-nothing type, similar in shape to the animal AP. In order to gain more insight into the molecular components that give rise to the Venus flytrap's emblematic AP, the transcriptomic landscape of its unique mechanotransducer - the trigger hair - was compared to the rest of the non-specialised tissues and organs. Additionally, the transcriptome of the electrically excitable fully-developed adult trap was compared to non-excitable juvenile traps that are unable to produce sharp APs. Together, the two strategies helped with the identification of electrogenic channels and pumps for each step of the AP as follows: (1) the most specific to the trigger hair was the mechanosensitive channel DmMSL10, making up the best candidate for the initial AP depolarization phase, (2) the K+ outward rectifier DmSKOR could be responsible for repolarisation, (3) further, the proton pump DmAHA4, might kick in during repolarisation and go on with hyperpolarisation and (4) the hyperpolarization- and acid-activated K+ inward rectifier KDM1 might contribute to the re-establishment of electrochemical gradient and the resting potential. Responsible for the AP-associated Ca2+ wave and electrical signal propagation, the glutamate-like receptor DmGLR3.6 was also enriched in the trigger hairs. Together, these findings suggest that the reuse of genes involved in electrical signalling in ordinary plants can give rise to the Venus flytrap's trademark AP. The Venus flytrap has been cultivated ever since its discovery, generating more than one hundred cultivars over the years. Among them, indistinguishable from a normal Venus flytrap at first sight, the 'ERROR' cultivar exhibits a peculiar behaviour: it is unable to snap its traps upon two APs. Nevertheless, it is still able to elicit normal APs. To get a better understanding of the key molecular mechanisms and pathways that are essential for a successful trap closure, the 'ERROR' mutant was compared to the functional wild type. Timelapse photography led to the observation that the 'ERROR' mutants were able to leisurely half close their traps when repeated mechanostimulation was applied (10 minutes after 20 APs, 0.03 Hz). As a result of touch or wounding in non-carnivorous plants, jasmonic acid (JA) is synthesized, alerting the plants of potential predators. Curiously, the JA levels were reduced upon mechanostimulation and completely impaired upon wounding in the 'ERROR' mutant. In search of genes accountable for the 'ERROR' mutant's defects, the transcriptomes of the two phenotypes were compared before and after mechanostimulation (1h after 10 APs, 0.01 Hz). The overall dampened response of the mutant compared to the wild type, was reflected at transcriptomic level as well. Only about 50\% of wild type's upregulated genes after touch stimulation were differentially expressed in 'ERROR' and they manifested only half of the wild type's expression amplitude. Among unresponsive functional categories of genes in 'ERROR' phenotype, there were: cell wall integrity surveilling system, auxin biosynthesis and stress-related transcription factors from the ethylene-responsive AP2/ERF and C2H2-ZF families. Deregulated Ca2+-decoding as well as redox-related elements together with JA-pathway components might also contribute to the malfunctioning of the 'ERROR' mutant. As the mutant does not undergo full stomach formation after mechanical treatment, these missing processes represent key milestones that might mediate growth-defence trade-offs under JA signalling. This confirms the idea that carnivory has evolved by recycling the already available molecular machineries of the ubiquitous plant immune system. To better understand the mutant's defect in the trap snapping mechanism, the ground states (unstimulated traps) of the two phenotypes were compared. In this case, many cell wall-related genes (e.g. expansins) were downregulated in the 'ERROR' mutant. For the first time, these data point to the importance of a special cell wall architecture of the trap, that might confer the mechanical properties needed for a functional buckling system - which amplifies the speed of the trap closure. This study provides candidate channels for each of the AP phases that give rise to and shape the sharp Venus flytrap-specific AP. It further underlines the possible contribution of the cell wall architecture to the metastable ready-to-snap configuration of the trap before stimulation - which might be crucial for the buckling-dependent snapping. And finally, it highlights molecular milestones linked to defence responses that ensure trap morphing into a green stomach after mechanostimulation. Altogether, these processes prove to be interdependent and essential for a successful carnivorous lifestyle.},
  subject      = {Venusfliegenfalle},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BoehmScherzerKroletal.2016,
  author    = {B{\"o}hm, Jennifer and Scherzer, S{\"o}nke and Krol, Elzbieta and Kreuzer, Ines and von Meyer, Katharina and Lorey, Christian and Mueller, Thomas D. and Shabala, Lana and Monte, Isabel and Salano, Roberto and Al-Rasheid, Khaled A. S. and Rennenberg, Heinz and Shabala, Sergey and Neher, Erwin and Hedrich, Rainer},
  title     = {The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey-Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake},
  series = {Current Biology},
  volume    = {26},
  journal   = {Current Biology},
  number    = {3},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.cub.2015.11.057},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-128054},
  pages     = {286-295},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), depend on an animal diet when grown in nutrient-poor soils. When an insect visits the trap and tilts the mechanosensors on the inner surface, action potentials (APs) are fired. After a moving object elicits two APs, the trap snaps shut, encaging the victim. Panicking preys repeatedly touch the trigger hairs over the subsequent hours, leading to a hermetically closed trap, which via the gland-based endocrine system is flooded by a prey-decomposing acidic enzyme cocktail. Here, we asked the question as to how many times trigger hairs have to be stimulated (e.g., now many APs are required) for the flytrap to recognize an encaged object as potential food, thus making it worthwhile activating the glands. By applying a series of trigger-hair stimulations, we found that the touch hormone jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway is activated after the second stimulus, while more than three APs are required to trigger an expression of genes encoding prey-degrading hydrolases, and that this expression is proportional to the number of mechanical stimulations. A decomposing animal contains a sodium load, and we have found that these sodium ions enter the capture organ via glands. We identified a flytrap sodium channel DmHKT1 as responsible for this sodium acquisition, with the number of transcripts expressed being dependent on the number of mechano-electric stimulations. Hence, the number of APs a victim triggers while trying to break out of the trap identifies the moving prey as a struggling Na+-rich animal and nutrition for the plant.},
  subject      = {Venusfliegenfalle},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BoehmScherzerShabalaetal.2016,
  author    = {B{\"o}hm, J. and Scherzer, S. and Shabala, S. and Krol, E. and Neher, E. and Mueller, T. D. and Hedrich, R.},
  title     = {Venus flytrap HKT1-type channel provides for prey sodium uptake into carnivorous plant without conflicting with electrical excitability},
  series = {Molecular Plant},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Molecular Plant},
  number    = {3},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.molp.2015.09.017},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189803},
  pages     = {428-436},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {The animal diet of the carnivorous Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, contains a sodium load that enters the capture organ via an HKT1-type sodium channel, expressed in special epithelia cells on the inner trap lobe surface. DmHKT1 expression and sodium uptake activity is induced upon prey contact. Here, we analyzed the HKT1 properties required for prey sodium osmolyte management of carnivorous Dionaea. Analyses were based on homology modeling, generation of model-derived point mutants, and their functional testing in Xenopus oocytes. We showed that the wild-type HKT1 and its Na\(^+\)- and K\(^+\)-permeable mutants function as ion channels rather than K\(^+\) transporters driven by proton or sodium gradients. These structural and biophysical features of a high-capacity, Na\(^+\)-selective ion channel enable Dionaea glands to manage prey-derived sodium loads without confounding the action potential-based information management of the flytrap.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Boehm2015,
  author    = {B{\"o}hm, Jennifer},
  title     = {Die N{\"a}hrstoffresorption in den Fallen von Dionaea muscipula weist Parallelen zur N{\"a}hrsalzaufnahme in Wurzeln auf},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123958},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Die Venusfliegenfalle, Dionaea muscipula, weckte aufgrund ihrer karnivoren Lebensweise schon sehr fr{\"u}h das Interesse vieler Wissenschaftler. F{\"u}r karnivore Pflanzen, die auf N{\"a}hrstoff-armen B{\"o}den wachsen, spielen Insekten als Beute und somit als N{\"a}hrstofflieferant eine entscheidende Rolle. So k{\"o}nnen die Pflanzen durch die Verdauung der Beute mit wichtigen Makro- und Mikron{\"a}hrstoffen, wie Stickstoff, Phosphat, Kalium oder Natrium versorgt werden. Aus diesem Grund sollte im Rahmen meiner Arbeit ein besonderes Augenmerk auf die molekularen Mechanismen der Kationenaufnahme w{\"a}hrend der N{\"a}hrstoffresorption gerichtet werden. Insbesondere die aus dem Insekt stammenden N{\"a}hrstoffe Kalium und Natrium waren dabei von großem Interesse. Im Allgemeinen sind Kaliumionen f{\"u}r Pflanzen eine essentielle anorganische Substanz und von großer physiologischer Bedeutung f{\"u}r die Entwicklung, den Metabolismus, die Osmoregulation, das Membranpotential und viele zellul{\"a}re Prozesse. Analysen der Kaliumaufnahme an Wurzeln von Modellpflanzen wie Arabidopsis thaliana und Reis zeigten, dass die Aufnahme von K+ ein Zusammenspiel von hoch-affinen K+-Transportern der HAK5-Familie und nieder-affinen Kaliumkan{\"a}len (AKT1/AtKC1) erfordert, die in ein komplexes (De-)Phosphorylierungsnetzwerk eingebunden sind. In der vorliegenden Arbeit war es mir m{\"o}glich das Netzwerk zur Kaliumaufnahme in den Dr{\"u}sen der Venusfliegenfalle zu entschl{\"u}sseln. Es konnten Orthologe zum Kaliumtransporter HAK5 aus Arabidopsis (DmHAK5) und zum Kaliumkanal AKT1 (DmKT1) identifiziert und im heterologen Expressionssystem der Xenopus laevis Oozyten elektrophysiologisch charakterisiert werden. Dabei zeigte sich, das DmKT1 durch einen Ca2+-Sensor/Kinase-Komplex aus der CBL/CIPK-Familie phosphoryliert und somit aktiviert wird. Phylogenetische Analysen von DmKT1 best{\"a}tigten die Eingruppierung dieses Kaliumkanals in die Gruppe der pflanzlichen Shaker-Kaliumkan{\"a}le des AKT1-Typs. Die Transporteigenschaften zeigten zudem, dass DmKT1 bei hyperpolarisierenden Membranpotentialen aktiviert wird und einen K+-selektiven Einw{\"a}rtsstrom vermittelt. In Oozyten konnte eine Kaliumaufnahme bis zu einer externen Konzentration von ≥1 mM beobachtet werden. DmKT1 repr{\"a}sentiert also einen Kaliumkanal mit einer hohen Transportkapazit{\"a}t, der die nieder-affine Kaliumaufnahme in die Dr{\"u}senzellen der Venusfliegenfalle vermitteln kann. Unterhalb einer externen Kaliumkonzentration von 1 mM w{\"u}rde der anliegende elektrochemische Kaliumgradient einen Kaliumausstrom und somit einen Verlust von Kalium favorisieren. Hoch-affine K+/H+-Symporter k{\"o}nnen durch die Ausnutzung des Protonengradienten eine Kaliumaufnahme im mikromolaren Bereich gew{\"a}hrleisten. In Wurzelhaaren von Arabidopsis vermittelt der Transporter AtHAK5 die Kaliumaufnahme unter Kaliummangelbedingungen. DmHAK5, ein Ortholog zu AtHAK5, ist in Dionaea Dr{\"u}sen exprimiert und konnte zum ersten Mal im heterologen Expressionssystem der Xenopus Oozyten im Detail charakterisiert werden. Interessanterweise zeigte sich, dass DmHAK5 wie der K+-Kanal DmKT1 durch denselben CBL/CIPK-Komplex posttranslational reguliert und aktiviert wird. Die Transporteigenschaften von DmHAK5 wiesen auf einen Transporter mit einer breiten Substratspezifit{\"a}t hin, sodass sich DmHAK5 neben Kalium auch f{\"u}r Ammonium permeabel zeigte. Affinit{\"a}tsuntersuchungen von DmHAK5 zu seinem Substrat Kalium klassifizierten das Protein als einen hoch-affinen Kaliumtransporter, der im Symport mit Protonen die Kaliumaufnahme im mikromolaren Konzentrationsbereich vermitteln kann. Das Kaliumtransportmodul besteht also aus dem K+-selektiven Kanal DmKT1 und dem K+/H+-Symporter DmHAK5, die die hoch- und nieder-affine Kaliumaufnahme in den Dr{\"u}senzellen w{\"a}hrend der Beuteverdauung in Dionaea muscipula Fallen erm{\"o}glichen. Beide Transportmodule werden Kalzium-abh{\"a}ngig durch die Kinase CIPK23 und den Ca2+-Sensor CBL9 auf posttranslationaler Ebene reguliert. Zusammenfassend gelang es in dieser Arbeit Einblicke in die Kationenaufnahme w{\"a}hrend der N{\"a}hrstoffresorptionsphase der Venusfliegenfalle, Dionaea muscipula, zu gewinnen. Dabei wurde klar, dass Dionaea muscipula im Laufe ihrer Evolution zu einer karnivoren Pflanze, nicht neue Transportmodule zur N{\"a}hrstoffresorption aus der Beute entwickelte, sondern bekannte aus Wurzeln stammende Transportmodule umfunktionierte. Auf molekularer Ebene konnten die biophysikalischen Charakteristika der K+- und Na+-Transportproteine, sowie ihre Regulation entschl{\"u}sselt werden. Diese Erkenntnisse wurden schließlich in den Kontext des Beutefangs der Venusfliegenfalle gebracht und diskutiert.},
  subject      = {Venusfliegenfalle},
  language  = {de}
}