New research from Japan reveals the molecular mechanism that triggers the Venus flytrap’s immediate response to touch or stress. The results, published in Nature Communications, provide a deeper understanding of how the plant converts external events into internal signals and corresponding actions.
It is known that the Venus flytrap lures prey with scent. When an insect lands on the edge of a leaf, extremely sensitive trigger hairs are activated. If contact increases to a certain threshold, the trap suddenly closes, trapping the prey. The long cilia on the edges of the leaf gently fix it in place as the plant begins to release digestive enzymes. Digestion lasts five to twelve days, after which the trap reopens, ejecting the dried exoskeleton of the insect into the air.
it may actually “count” how many times something touches its hair-covered leaf margins; such an ability helps the plant distinguish the presence of prey from a small nut or pebble, or even a dead insect.
– Rainer Hedrich and team
Key discoveries and the history of the plant’s memory
In 2016, researchers at Julius Maximilians University in Würzburg confirmed that the flytrap can “count” touches to its hairs. A primary impulse is involved in the mechanism, but a second signal is needed to confirm the presence of real prey; after that, the trap closes. Full closure and digestion occur after five stimuli.
In 2023, scientists for the first time used a bioelectronic device to track how signals travel across the plant. The instrument showed radial spread of impulses, sometimes arising spontaneously in sensory hairs that had previously not been activated.
Even earlier, in 2020, Japanese researchers conducted genetic modification of the Venus flytrap to uncover how the plant’s short-term “memory” works. They used the calcium-sensing protein gene GCaMP6, which glows green when it binds calcium. This allowed seeing how calcium concentration in leaf cells changes during hair stimulation. The conclusion was that fluctuations of calcium signals may serve as the mechanism of the Venus flytrap’s short-term memory, although the exact interaction with the plant’s electrical network remained not fully clarified.
Overall, these studies demonstrate how plants integrate electrical signals and internal molecular “memory” for a more effective response to surrounding events. Such findings emphasize the role of plants in the field of bioelectronics and sensory systems.
The future: science, engineering, and new possibilities
Deepening our understanding of memory and signal mechanisms in the flytrap could pave the way for materials and devices where living plants form part of sensor networks. Such knowledge also opens up prospects for developing bioelectronic systems and smart sensors that merge biology with technology.
AloJapan.com