Aquatic Ecosystems

Carnivorous Plants Glow to Attract Prey

There have been multiple carnivorous plants found in the world and they all have different tricks to lure insects and other animals into their clutches.  Several plants have been found to glow to attract their prey. For example, the pitfall traps Nepenthes khasiana and Sarracenia purpurea and the snap trap Dionaea muscipula glow a bright blue.  The flesh-eating flora has special cells that help them generate the ultraviolet hue.  The fluorescence is quite alluring to insects while it is actually invisible to the unaided human eye.  To an insect, the carnivorous plant’s glow probably looks like a bonfire at night. But to people looking at the plant under a black light, it probably looks something like a glow stick.  It has been found that the glow is actually a survival technique.  For example, carnivorous plants most often grow in nutrient-deficient soils and have to catch and kill bugs to supplement their poor diets. 

The plants have a chemical structure called conjugated double bond, and they have the ability to absorb light and re-emit it.  In the article they used the analogy that it is like moths to a flame. The plants’ light is emitted as an ultraviolet wavelength tailored to appeal to potential prey, including insects and other arthropods, the group that includes crustaceans, insects, and spiders. Insects often can see wavelengths that emphasize food sources.  The scientists who have found these plants said that they might even aid in future breakthroughs.  For example, fluorescent jellyfish proteins are attached to specific markers, allowing researchers to study, for example, how cancer cells spread. The carnivorous plant’s glowing cells could potentially provide a new tracking method.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/02/25/carnivorous-plants-glow/?source=hp_dl1_news_carnivorous_plants_2130227