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11 Enzymes
11.2.4 Carnivorous Plants
While some plants depend on the nutrient supply from the soil or water they are
grown in for their growth and survival, there are a special group of plants which have
adapted features that allow then to capture prey, digest them and use their biomass as
nutrients. Examples of species of aquatic carnivorous plants are Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Utricularia vulgaris, U. reflexa Oliver, U. stygia Thor and U. intermedia Hayne
(Adamec 2010). However, there are over 700 species of known carnivorous plants.
These plants mainly feed on insects which they lure into the trap using sweet
nectar they secrete. Once the insect is trapped, the enzymes within the plants digest
the insect to produce the nutrients needed by the plants. The enzymes produced by
the plants must therefore include all the essential enzymes to break down protein,
lipids, chitin, glycogen and other compounds which make up the insect’s body that
can be converted to produce the carbon, nitrogen, sulfate and phosphate needed for
plant growth. These carnivorous plants have been confirmed to have different enzyme
compositions for digesting prey (Schulze et al. 2012). The minerals present in the
insect body are also taken up by the plant. These enzymes are expected to have
quite significantly high activity as some of these plants have been known to digest
relatively large rodents.
Other than the enzymes they produce, carnivorous plants also make use of digestive enzymes of the symbiotic bacteria present within them to digest prey. An example
of a carnivorous plant which has been confirmed to do this is the Utricularia breviscapa (Lima et al. 2018). This carnivorous plant grows in the floodplains in Brazil and
can therefore be classified as aquatic. It floats on water by means of its parenchyma
which is filled with air and traps insects with the aid of its segmented leaf structure
with utricles which capture prey by creating a hydrostatic pressure. Bacteria species
which are present in these carnivorous aquatic plants include Bacillus, Aquitalea,
Sphingomonas, Azospirillum, Chromobacterium, Novosphingobium and Acidobacteria (Lima et al. 2018). Therefore, a carnivorous aquatic plant can have a host of
bacterium in its trap which aids in the digestion of the prey. The types of bacteria
and population distribution vary depending on the habitat.
Understanding the mechanisms of action of such plants could contribute toward
the development of plant-based biological pest control and enzyme-based pesticides
for aquaculture.
11.2.5 Extremophiles
Some organisms have adapted to survive in extreme conditions which require them to
produce enzymes not commonly found in organisms of their kind. An example of such
is the deep-sea giant amphipod, Hirondellea gigas, which has developed enzymes
for digesting wood (Kobayashi et al. 2012). These organisms exist in the Mariana
Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean where the most extreme conditions exist
11 Enzymes
11.2.4 Carnivorous Plants
While some plants depend on the nutrient supply from the soil or water they are
grown in for their growth and survival, there are a special group of plants which have
adapted features that allow then to capture prey, digest them and use their biomass as
nutrients. Examples of species of aquatic carnivorous plants are Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Utricularia vulgaris, U. reflexa Oliver, U. stygia Thor and U. intermedia Hayne
(Adamec 2010). However, there are over 700 species of known carnivorous plants.
These plants mainly feed on insects which they lure into the trap using sweet
nectar they secrete. Once the insect is trapped, the enzymes within the plants digest
the insect to produce the nutrients needed by the plants. The enzymes produced by
the plants must therefore include all the essential enzymes to break down protein,
lipids, chitin, glycogen and other compounds which make up the insect’s body that
can be converted to produce the carbon, nitrogen, sulfate and phosphate needed for
plant growth. These carnivorous plants have been confirmed to have different enzyme
compositions for digesting prey (Schulze et al. 2012). The minerals present in the
insect body are also taken up by the plant. These enzymes are expected to have
quite significantly high activity as some of these plants have been known to digest
relatively large rodents.
Other than the enzymes they produce, carnivorous plants also make use of digestive enzymes of the symbiotic bacteria present within them to digest prey. An example
of a carnivorous plant which has been confirmed to do this is the Utricularia breviscapa (Lima et al. 2018). This carnivorous plant grows in the floodplains in Brazil and
can therefore be classified as aquatic. It floats on water by means of its parenchyma
which is filled with air and traps insects with the aid of its segmented leaf structure
with utricles which capture prey by creating a hydrostatic pressure. Bacteria species
which are present in these carnivorous aquatic plants include Bacillus, Aquitalea,
Sphingomonas, Azospirillum, Chromobacterium, Novosphingobium and Acidobacteria (Lima et al. 2018). Therefore, a carnivorous aquatic plant can have a host of
bacterium in its trap which aids in the digestion of the prey. The types of bacteria
and population distribution vary depending on the habitat.
Understanding the mechanisms of action of such plants could contribute toward
the development of plant-based biological pest control and enzyme-based pesticides
for aquaculture.
11.2.5 Extremophiles
Some organisms have adapted to survive in extreme conditions which require them to
produce enzymes not commonly found in organisms of their kind. An example of such
is the deep-sea giant amphipod, Hirondellea gigas, which has developed enzymes
for digesting wood (Kobayashi et al. 2012). These organisms exist in the Mariana
Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean where the most extreme conditions exist