Molecular mechanisms of the memory in Dionaea muscipula

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14761
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Plant molecular biology/Plant physiology
• Research Institution: National Institute for Basic Biology
• Principal Investigator: Hasebe Mitsuyasu 基礎生物学研究所, 生物進化研究部門, 教授 (40237996)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: ハエトリソウ / 植物記憶 / カルシウム / メカノセンシング / 進化 / 食虫植物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The carnivorous plant Dionaea muscipula captures, digests, and absorbs small animals for nourishment by closing the leaves. For the leaf to close, the sensory hairs on the leaf must be stimulated twice within about 30 seconds. In other words, the flytrap memorizes the first stimulus for about 30 seconds. We generated a transgenic flytrap expressing a calcium sensor protein and analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in cytosolic calcium ion concentration in response to stimulation. The results showed that the concentration increased from the sensory hairs to the leaf blade at the first stimulus, while the concentration exceeded a threshold at the second stimulus, causing the leaf to close. Taking into account other experimental results, it was found that cytosolic calcium ion concentration changes are the molecular mechanism of memory in flytrap.

Free Research Field

植物進化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

脳も神経も無いのに、ハエトリソウが刺激を記憶できるということは、100年以上前に発見され、研究者だけでなく、社会的な関心も高かった。しかし、その仕組みは不明だった。今回の実験で植物の記憶がカルシウム濃度の変化によって引き起こされることが明らかになった。