The carnivorous Venus flytrap catches prey by an ingenious snapping mechanism. Based on nearly 200 years of work, it has become generally accepted that two touches of the trap's sensory hairs within 30 seconds, each one generating an action potential, are required to trigger closure of the trap. By contrast, Burri et al. develop an electromechanical model which suggests that under certain circumstances one touch is sufficient to generate two action potentials. Using a force-sensing microrobotic system, the authors precisely quantify the sensory-hair deflection parameters necessary to trigger trap closure and correlate them with the elicited action potentials in vivo. These results confirm the model's predictions, suggesting that the Venus flytrap may be adapted to a wider range of prey movements than previously assumed. The image shows a force sensor placed next to a sensory hair; the metal levers serve to prevent the trap from closing upon triggering, and simultaneously measure the snap force via a load cell.
Image Credit: Hannes Vogler
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