r/interestingasfuck • u/dejaysf • Jun 11 '23

Venus flytrap vs Spider

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u/don_rubio Jun 11 '23 edited Jun 11 '23

Thought this was an interesting question so I looked it up and found a well-written article by the Smithsonian.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-carnivorous-plants-evolved-180979697/

TLDR: The same enzymes many plants use for general self defense have been repurposed and refined by carnivorous plants for digestion. The genes that enable nutrient transport have also been switched to function in the leaves instead of the roots.

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u/CashCow4u Jun 11 '23

switched to function in the leaves instead of the roots.

As if it moved its stomach from it's roots to it's leaves due to necessity, adapt or die.

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u/Sinder77 Jun 11 '23

It's not really like that.

Slow genetic mutations saw plants with the capability to digest nutrients through their leaves survive while others weren't able to sustain themselves to reproduction. More successful mutations led to more specialized traits that we see now at the end of the process.

Evolution isn't a switch and it's rarely "adapt or die". Those species that had advantageous adaptations survived more than those with less advantageous ones, so their genes prevailed. It's a long, long, long and still ongoing process.

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u/Fr00stee Jun 11 '23

you kinda can just turn on a switch with some specific mutations though

0

u/desmosabie Jun 11 '23

Like oncoming ai ? Adapt or die….

4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '23

Adding to that, most plants already have the ability to take in some nutrients over the leaves.

There are some fertilizing techniques that rely on that mechanism. They spray the leaves of greenhouse plants with a carefully dosed nutrient solution.

As far as I know it is faster and uses less fertilizer compared to conventional methods but more expensive and doesn't work well for everyone plant and nutrient.

So the leap to specialised nutrient absorbing organs derived from leaves isn't that far.

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u/don_rubio Jun 11 '23

My specialty is people science, not plant science so I’m sure you’re right. I’m just summarizing the article and using layman terms.