Details
| Originalsprache | Englisch |
|---|---|
| Aufsatznummer | 11647 |
| Fachzeitschrift | Scientific reports |
| Jahrgang | 7 |
| Ausgabenummer | 1 |
| Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 14 Sept. 2017 |
Abstract
Most terrestrial carnivorous plants are specialized on insect prey digestion to obtain additional nutrients. Few species of the genus Nepenthes developed mutualistic relationships with mammals for nitrogen supplementation. Whether dietary changes require certain enzymatic composition to utilize new sources of nutrients has rarely been tested. Here, we investigated the role of urease for Nepenthes hemsleyana that gains nitrogen from the bat Kerivoula hardwickii while it roosts inside the pitchers. We hypothesized that N. hemsleyana is able to use urea from the bats' excrements. In fact, we demonstrate that 15N-enriched urea provided to Nepenthes pitchers is metabolized and its nitrogen is distributed within the plant. As ureases are necessary to degrade urea, these hydrolytic enzymes should be involved. We proved the presence and enzymatic activity of a urease for Nepenthes plant tissues. The corresponding urease cDNA from N. hemsleyana was isolated and functionally expressed. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for eukaryotic ureases, including Nepenthes and five other carnivorous plants' taxa, identified them as canonical ureases and reflects the plant phylogeny. Hence, this study reveals ureases as an emblematic example for an efficient, low-cost but high adaptive plasticity in plants while developing a further specialized lifestyle from carnivory to coprophagy.
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in: Scientific reports, Jahrgang 7, Nr. 1, 11647, 14.09.2017.
Publikation: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift › Artikel › Forschung › Peer-Review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Coprophagous features in carnivorous Nepenthes plants: a task for ureases
AU - Yilamujiang, Ayufu
AU - Zhu, Anting
AU - Ligabue-Braun, Rodrigo
AU - Bartram, Stefan
AU - Witte, Claus-Peter
AU - Hedrich, Rainer
AU - Hasabe, Mitsuyasu
AU - Schoener, Caroline R.
AU - Schoener, Michael G.
AU - Kerth, Gerald
AU - Carlini, Celia R.
AU - Mithoefer, Axel
N1 - Funding information: We thank Birgit Arnold and the whole greenhouse team at the MPI for Chemical Ecology as well as Ingrid Handt, Christian Ehrke and the team of the Botanical Garden in Greifswald for growing N. alata and N. hemsleyana plants, respectively; we also thank Yannick Pauchet for helpful advice and Gerg? Pálfalvi, Kenji Fukushima, and Yukiko Kabeya for D. spatulata and C. follicularis urease gene sequences. We thank Wilhelm Boland and the Max Planck Society for continuous support. This work was further supported in part by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; PPP Project ID 57142556) (AM), by the Brazilian agency Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Program PROBRAL 407/2016, grant 23038.006810/2014-51 (CRC), by the German Research Foundation (DFG: KE 746/5-1) (KE) and by the MEXT/ JSPS KAKENHI Grant 22128001 (MH) and 22128002 (MH).
PY - 2017/9/14
Y1 - 2017/9/14
N2 - Most terrestrial carnivorous plants are specialized on insect prey digestion to obtain additional nutrients. Few species of the genus Nepenthes developed mutualistic relationships with mammals for nitrogen supplementation. Whether dietary changes require certain enzymatic composition to utilize new sources of nutrients has rarely been tested. Here, we investigated the role of urease for Nepenthes hemsleyana that gains nitrogen from the bat Kerivoula hardwickii while it roosts inside the pitchers. We hypothesized that N. hemsleyana is able to use urea from the bats' excrements. In fact, we demonstrate that 15N-enriched urea provided to Nepenthes pitchers is metabolized and its nitrogen is distributed within the plant. As ureases are necessary to degrade urea, these hydrolytic enzymes should be involved. We proved the presence and enzymatic activity of a urease for Nepenthes plant tissues. The corresponding urease cDNA from N. hemsleyana was isolated and functionally expressed. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for eukaryotic ureases, including Nepenthes and five other carnivorous plants' taxa, identified them as canonical ureases and reflects the plant phylogeny. Hence, this study reveals ureases as an emblematic example for an efficient, low-cost but high adaptive plasticity in plants while developing a further specialized lifestyle from carnivory to coprophagy.
AB - Most terrestrial carnivorous plants are specialized on insect prey digestion to obtain additional nutrients. Few species of the genus Nepenthes developed mutualistic relationships with mammals for nitrogen supplementation. Whether dietary changes require certain enzymatic composition to utilize new sources of nutrients has rarely been tested. Here, we investigated the role of urease for Nepenthes hemsleyana that gains nitrogen from the bat Kerivoula hardwickii while it roosts inside the pitchers. We hypothesized that N. hemsleyana is able to use urea from the bats' excrements. In fact, we demonstrate that 15N-enriched urea provided to Nepenthes pitchers is metabolized and its nitrogen is distributed within the plant. As ureases are necessary to degrade urea, these hydrolytic enzymes should be involved. We proved the presence and enzymatic activity of a urease for Nepenthes plant tissues. The corresponding urease cDNA from N. hemsleyana was isolated and functionally expressed. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for eukaryotic ureases, including Nepenthes and five other carnivorous plants' taxa, identified them as canonical ureases and reflects the plant phylogeny. Hence, this study reveals ureases as an emblematic example for an efficient, low-cost but high adaptive plasticity in plants while developing a further specialized lifestyle from carnivory to coprophagy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029507707&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-11999-z
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-11999-z
M3 - Article
VL - 7
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 11647
ER -