Dr. Tanya Renner uses plants as models to study adaptation and her research projects have examined the underlying genetics and evolution of carnivorous plant digestive enzymes and the modified leaf structures from which they are secreted. As part of this lecture, we'll explore a variety of interesting characters that have evolved in the carnivorous Caryophyllales.
Bio: Tanya Renner received her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from UC Berkeley. She is now an Associate Professor of Entomology at The Pennsylvania State University. Her work with carnivorous plants started as a graduate student, when she began to explore phylogenetic relationships among the carnivorous Caryophyllales (Nepenthes, Drosera, Dionaea, and relatives) and the evolution of their traits and digestive enzymes.
Dr. Renner adds:
"“To clarify the interpretation of Kreuzwieser et al. (2014)'s results in the Journal
of Experimental Biology: Although the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by
Dionaea (Venus flytrap) were altered once the plant was fed, this change did not
seem to affect whether the Drosophila (flies) were attracted to the plants. However,
the flies preferred Dionaea over containers without plants. The authors conclude
that the plants are emitting VOCs used in insect attraction and that these VOCs
mimic the smell of food."
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