In this interview , Dr. Skylar Johnson shares her thrilling adventures and groundbreaking research on carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants in the lush rainforests of Borneo. Image Credit: Byonoy What distinguishes pitchers from other carnivorous plants and makes them so unique? Different carnivorous plants use various trapping mechanisms.
Consider the Venus flytrap, which folds insects between its leaves, or roots with suction cavities that slurp microorganisms. Nepenthes, on the other hand, take a unique and, in my opinion, clever approach. The pitcher-shaped leaves have specialized tissue on the rim with fine ridges.
When it is dry, insects can walk along it safely. But when it rains, the rims become slippery. The pitcher's moist surface acts as a deadly trap, causing insects to hydroplane into the cavity, drowning and providing vital nutrients to the plant.
It is both insidious and clever, demonstrating nature's cunning adaptations. Image Credit: Byonoy The deadly trap that drowns insects resembles a black hole. Is this the focus of your research? Exactly.
I am looking at the fluid that drains the insects from the pitcher. This soup consists of water and digestive enzymes. However, the composition appears to vary among Nepenthes species.
One example is the soup's viscoelastic component, which helps form the ribbons on the pitcher's surface and the various proteases and phosphatases that aid digestion. My main goal is to determine what is in the soup inside the pitchers and.