The carnivorous plants in the order Caryophyllales co-opted jasmonate signalling from plant defence to botanical carnivory. However, carnivorous plants have at least 11 independent origins, and here we ask whether jasmonate signalling has been co-opted repeatedly in different evolutionary lineages. We experimentally wounded and fed the carnivorous plants Sarracenia purpurea (order Ericales), Cephalotus follicularis (order Oxalidales), Drosophyllum lusitanicum (order Caryophyllales), and measured electrical signals, phytohormone tissue level, and digestive enzymes activity. Coronatine was added exogenously to confirm the role of jasmonates in the induction of digestive process. Immunodetection of aspartic protease and proteomic analysis of digestive fluid was also performed. We found that prey capture induced accumulation of endogenous jasmonates only in D. lusitanicum, in accordance with increased enzyme activity after insect prey or coronatine application. In C. follicularis, the enzyme activity was constitutive while in S. purpurea was regulated by multiple factors. Several classes of digestive enzymes were identified in the digestive fluid of D. lusitanicum. Although carnivorous plants from different evolutionary lineages use the same digestive enzymes, the mechanism of their regulation differs. All investigated genera use jasmonates for their ancient role, defence, but jasmonate signalling has been co-opted for botanical carnivory only in some of them.
Keywords: Aspartic protease; carnivorous plant; digestive enzymes; electrical signal; jasmonic acid; phytohormone; plant defence; wounding.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.