Stoma-to-stomach evolution: the hidden link between stomatal physiology and plant carnivory

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Dietmar Geiger, since 4/2024
• Subject Area: Plant Physiology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 454506241

Analogous to the animal stomach, carnivorous plants produce digestive cocktails containing hydrochloric acid for food digestion. A specialized set of cells called digestive gland cells are responsible for this ability, however, the evolutionary origin of this trait is highly enigmatic. Recently, we sequenced the whole genome of a carnivorous pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis and obtained a clue to the origin of hydrochloric acid production. Our hypothesis relates it with stomatal movement, a previously unassociated process. The aim of this project is to understand how they, exceptionally as plants, secrete hydrochloric acid, and how the responsible cells acquired the ability during evolution. We will combine electrophysiology and evolutionary genomics to test the hypothesis on the involvement of candidate ion channels and to identify the transcriptomic changes that allowed the transition from the ancestral cell type to the new state.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Kenji Fukushima, Ph.D., until 3/2024