PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jan T. Burri
AU  - Eashan Saikia
AU  - Nino F. Läubli
AU  - Hannes Vogler
AU  - Falk K. Wittel
AU  - Markus Rüggeberg
AU  - Hans J. Herrmann
AU  - Ingo Burgert
AU  - Bradley J. Nelson
AU  - Ueli Grossniklaus
TI  - The mechanical basis for snapping of the Venus flytrap, Darwin’s ‘most wonderful plant in the world’
AID  - 10.1101/697797
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 697797
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/07/10/697797.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/07/10/697797.full
AB  - The carnivorous Venus flytrap catches prey by an ingenious snapping mechanism. Based on work over the past 190 years, 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. We developed an electromechanical model which, however, suggests that under certain circumstances one touch is sufficient to generate two action potentials. Using a force-sensing microrobotics system, we precisely quantified the sensory hair deflection parameters necessary to trigger trap closure, and correlated them with the elicited action potentials in vivo. Our results confirm the model’s predictions, suggesting that the Venus flytrap may be adapted to a wider range of prey movement than previously assumed.