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An S‐like ribonuclease gene is used to generate a trap‐leaf enzyme in the carnivorous plant Drosera adelae
Author(s) -
Okabe Takahiro,
Iwakiri Yoshimoto,
Mori Hitoshi,
Ogawa Tomohisa,
Ohyama Takashi
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.043
Subject(s) - carnivorous plant , ribonuclease , rnase p , biology , amino acid , biochemistry , gene , enzyme , nucleotide , phosphate , botany , rna , ecology , predation
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.