英国诺里奇研究园约翰·英尼斯中心细胞与发育生物学系教授Enrico Coen研究组发现，肉食性植物陷阱的进化是通过基因表达的简单转移而从平面叶片开始的。该研究2019年11月21日发表于《科学》。

他们表明在肉食性植物丝叶狸藻中，上部叶片（近轴）区域被限制在原基的一小部分区域，从而形成了陷阱的内层。这种限制对于陷阱的形成是必要的，因为早期的异位近轴活性使叶片呈放射状且没有陷阱。

他们提出了一个模型，该模型解释了通过基因活性的正反轴域建立平面和非平面叶片的过程，该域建立了定向于生长的极性场。结合正交近极极性场，该系统可以产生多种叶片形式，并可以通过基因表达的简单转变来解释杯状叶片的多种进化起源。

据了解，这种植物的叶片可以从平面片状和针状结构变化到精致的杯状陷阱。

附：英文原文

Title: Evolution of carnivorous traps from planar leaves through simple shifts in gene expression

Author: Christopher D. Whitewoods, Beatriz Gonalves, Jie Cheng, Minlong Cui, Richard Kennaway, Karen Lee, Claire Bushell, Man Yu, Chunlan Piao, Enrico Coen

Issue&Volume: 2019/11/21

Abstract: Leaves vary from planar sheets and needle-like structures, to elaborate cup-shaped traps. Here we show that in the carnivorous plant Utricularia gibba, the upper leaf (adaxial) domain is restricted to a small region of the primordium which gives rise to the trap’s inner layer. This restriction is necessary for trap formation, as ectopic adaxial activity at early stages gives radialized leaves and no traps. We present a model that accounts for the formation of both planar and non-planar leaves through adaxial-abaxial domains of gene activity establishing a polarity field that orients growth. In combination with an orthogonal proximodistal polarity field, this system can generate diverse leaf forms, and can account for the multiple evolutionary origins of cup-shaped leaves through simple shifts in gene expression.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aay5433

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/11/20/science.aay5433