Posted by Emma Crouch
The chemistry world has recently been talking about the glowing Venus flytrap and why it has made breakthroughs. Scientists have recently found that by splicing a special gene into the carnivorous plant, researchers can visualize the mechanism and chemistry that helps them snap shut on prey. When provoking a Venus flytrap, the first stimulus is often ignored, and action is not seen until the second. For years, scientists have struggled with why this phenomenon only occurs on the second stimulus. However, they have now found that it is due to Calcium ions. The plant uses the calcium to convey information and makes it easy for the cell to recognize change in concentration. To observe this in the lab, scientists used a gene that when bound to calcium, produces a fluorescent green. This gene was integrated with a modified bacterium. Once implemented, researchers were able to visualize the difference of total calcium ions between the first stimulus and the stimulus that eventually made the Venus flytrap close. With this new and exciting information researchers will be able to understand even more about the electrical activity of many plants.
Glow Seen From First Stimulus
Glow Seen From Second Stimulus
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ReplyDeleteGood, straightforward title. Captivating graphics. Very interesting chemistry. You summarize the article quite well in your own words. You need to link to the original article. Another article on this study has been summarized on an earlier blog.
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