PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf

Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf
2015-03-16
(Press-News.org) Carnivorous plants have strange-shaped leaves, and they can grow on nutrient-poor environments by trapping and eating small animals. Charles Darwin, often called "the father of evolution", was also interested in carnivorous plants, and he wrote a book titled "Insectivorous Plants" published in 1875. Since then a lot of researches have been done, but how such strange-shaped leaves were altered during evolution remained unknown.

A research team in Japan has revealed how carnivorous pitcher leaves are formed in Sarracenia purpurea, a carnivorous plant native to North America. They thoroughly examined the process of pitcher leaf development by scanning electron microscopy, gene expression analyses, cell division pattern analyses, and a mathematical reconstruction of pitcher morphogenesis. They showed that a tissue-specific regulation of oriented cell division is the key factor for pitcher development. A computational modeling of leaf morphogenesis also supports these results. Their findings were published in Nature Communications on the 16th of March 2015.

Kenji Fukushima, a graduate student of SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) at the National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of National Sciences, and his colleagues found that at the beginning of leaf development the leaf primordium of a pitcher leaf is flat like a flat leaf. They also found that the crucial difference between pitcher and flat leaf development is the direction of cell divisions in the central part of the basal side of the leaf primordium. In a flat leaf, cell divisions occur vertically against the leaf surface, but in a specific part of Sarracenia leaves, cell divisions occur in parallel to the leaf surface. This difference makes a ridge and a hollow on the leaf and then forms the pitcher shape as the leaf continues to grow. A computational model of leaf morphogenesis, with the angle and number of cell divisions included as parameters, also supports these results.

Kenji Fukushima said "Organ morphogenesis is a complicated process. In this study, the classification of cell positions worked well to find key points of tangled cell dynamics. This work would explain how plants attain drastic morphological evolution through cellular changes".

Prof. Mitsuyasu Hasebe, the team leader of this research group said "One of most mysterious questions in evolutionary biology is the evolution of novel complex traits. This study shows that change at the cellular level results in quite a big change in the morphology".

INFORMATION:

Reference: Kenji Fukushima, Hironori Fujita, Takahiro Yamaguchi, Masayoshi Kawaguchi, Hirokazu Tsukaya and Mitsuyasu Hasebe
"Oriented cell division shapes carnivorous pitcher leaves of Sarracenia purpurea"

Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7450


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf 2 Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Biodiversity-protected areas in Indonesia ineffective in preventing deforestation: NUS-led study

2015-03-16
Establishing protected areas in forests is one way to keep deforestation at bay and safeguard biodiversity. However, a study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has revealed that such a measure is ineffective in the case of biodiversity-focused protected areas in Indonesia. The research, led by Assistant Professor Roman Carrasco of the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science and Assistant Professor Alex Cook of NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, found that the monitoring and prevention of road construction ...

High-dose zinc acetate lozenges may help shorten symptoms associated with the common cold

2015-03-16
According to a meta-analysis published in BMC Family Practice, high dose zinc acetate lozenges may help shorten diverse symptoms associated with the common cold. The common cold is an infection caused by over a hundred viruses, and it is a major cause of days off school or work and visits to a doctor. A previous meta-analysis of three randomized trials found that high dose zinc acetate lozenges shorten the duration of colds by 42%. Since all of the three studies reported the duration of diverse respiratory symptoms and of systemic symptoms such as muscle ache and headache, ...

Neither more food nor better food -- still, fish biomass increases

2015-03-16
To increase the biomass of fish, contemporary ecological theory predicts that either the amount of food or the quality of the food has to increase. In a recent experiment, researchers at Umeå University doubled the fish biomass under identical food supply and food quality by only controlling how much of total food supply that was channelled to juvenile and adult fish, respectively. The results have major implications for the exploitation (harvest) of fish populations and the coexistence of predatory fish and their prey. To increase the biomass of a population, contemporary ...

New possibilities for the treatment of breast cancer arise, with the help of mathematics

2015-03-16
A means of reprogramming a flawed immune response into an efficient anti-tumoral one was brought to light by the results of a translational trial relating to breast cancer. Thanks to the innovative combination of mathematical modelisation and experimentation, only 20 tests were necessary, whereas traditional experimentation would have required 596 tests to obtain the same results. The study was jointly conducted by Doctor Marie-Agnès Doucey (Experimental oncology, Centre Ludwig de l'UNIL pour la recherche sur le cancer), Professor Ioannis Xenarios (UNIL, SIB, Vital-IT) ...

The devil's helmet for a legendary tiger moth

The devils helmet for a legendary tiger moth
2015-03-16
The Menetries's tiger moth (Borearctia menetriesii) is the most rare and enigmatic representative among the Palearctic Arctiinae. During an expedition in almost inaccessible wild taiga area of Eastern Siberia, Russian scientists had the luck to encounter it. During their studies they also recorded feeding larva of this mysterious species on a native devil's helmet host plant for the first time. The study was published in the open access journal Nota Lepidopterologica. The Menetries's tiger moth (Borearctia menetriesii) is the most rare and enigmatic representative among ...

The 10-point guide to the integral management of menopausal health

2015-03-16
Amsterdam, March 16, 2015 - Elsevier journal Maturitas, today announced the publication of a position statement by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) covering the ten- point guide to the integral management of menopausal health. This has been written to mark the 10th EMAS Congress in Madrid May 20-22, 2015. With increased longevity and more women becoming centenarians, management of the menopause and post-reproductive health is of growing importance as it has the potential to help promote health over several decades. Women have individual needs and the ...

American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session AM tip sheet

2015-03-16
The studies below will be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session the morning of Saturday, March 14. 1. Depression May Influence Cardiovascular Outcomes A new study adds to the evidence that depression may influence cardiovascular outcomes, prompting authors to call on cardiologists to pay closer attention to depression when managing patients with heart disease. Researchers at Care Institute of Medical Sciences in India found depression to be independently associated with a greater chance of cardiovascular death and lower quality ...

Heart CT scans show slight benefits over functional tests for heart disease

2015-03-16
Patients with symptoms of heart disease have similar outcomes in terms of death and major cardiac conditions regardless of whether they undergo a functional stress test or a computed tomographic scan, but the scan may be better at ruling out the need for subsequent tests and procedures in patients who are free of heart disease, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session in San Diego. The PROMISE trial is the first-ever randomized controlled trial to compare clinical outcomes in patients receiving functional stress ...

Long-term ticagrelor cuts risk of future events after heart attack

2015-03-16
SAN DIEGO (March 14, 2015) -- Adding the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor to aspirin as long-term therapy after a heart attack significantly reduced the rate of subsequent death from cardiovascular causes, heart attack or stroke, with the benefit appearing to accrue for nearly three years, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. The double-blind PEGASUS-TIMI 54 trial recruited 21,162 patients who had experienced a heart attack in the previous one to three years. Each had another factor, such as age or diabetes, ...

No real cost difference between types of tests that look for heart disease

2015-03-16
SAN DIEGO (March 14, 2015) -- A study comparing the overall economics of computed tomographic angiography with functional stress tests for evaluating patients with symptoms suggestive of possible blocked coronary arteries found no significant differences in costs over three years. The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. Although the angiography, scans of the heart referred to as CT angiography, initially appeared to provide some cost savings, this didn't hold up once the costs of subsequent testing and procedures ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Laser correction for short-sightedness is safe and effective for older teenagers

About one in five people taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro say food tastes saltier or sweeter than before

Taking semaglutide turns down food noise, research suggests

Type 2 diabetes may double risk of sepsis, large community-based study suggests

New quantum sensors can withstand extreme pressure

Tirzepatide more cost-effective than semaglutide in patients with knee osteoarthritis and obesity

GLP-1 drugs shown cost-effective for knee osteoarthritis and obesity

Interactive apps, AI chatbots promote playfulness, reduce privacy concerns

How NIL boosts college football’s competitive balance

Moffitt researchers develop machine learning model to predict urgent care visits for lung cancer patients

Construction secrets of honeybees: Study reveals how bees build hives in tricky spots

Wheat disease losses total $2.9 billion across the United States and Canada between 2018 and 2021

New funding fuels development of first potentially regenerative treatment for multiple sclerosis

NJIT student–faculty team wins best presentation award for ant swarm simulation

Ants defend plants from herbivores but can hinder pollination

When the wireless data runs dry

Inquiry into the history of science shows an early “inherence” bias

Picky eaters endure: Ecologists use DNA to explore diet breadth of wild herbivores

Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time

Increasing the level of the protein PI31 demonstrates neuroprotective effects in mice

Multi-energy X-ray curved surface imaging-with multi-layer in-situ grown scintillators

Metasurface enables compact and high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer

PFAS presence confirmed in the blood of children in Gipuzkoa

Why do people believe lies?

SwRI installs private 5G network for research, development, testing and evaluation

A new perspective in bone metabolism: Targeting the lysosome–iron–mitochondria axis for osteoclast regulation

Few military spouses use formal support services during, after deployment

Breakthrough in the hunt for light dark matter: QROCODILE project reveals world-leading constraints

2D x-ray imaging technique reveals hidden processes in CO2 electrolyzers

Rational high entropy doping strategy via modular in-situ/post solvothermal doping integration for microwave absorption

[Press-News.org] Development of a carnivorous pitcher leaf