Date of Award
Spring 2020
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Honors Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biology
Sponsor
Paul Stephenson
Committee Member
Kasandra Riley
Committee Member
Pamela Brannock
Abstract
Many species of plants have adopted carnivory as a way to obtain supplementary nutrients from otherwise nutrient deficient environments. One such species, Nepenthes ventricosa, is characterized by a pitcher shaped passive trap. This trap is filled with a digestive fluid that consists of many different digestive enzymes, the majority of which seem to have been recruited from pathogen resistance systems. The present study attempted to determine whether the introduction of a prey stimulus will coordinately up-regulate the enzymatic expression of a chitinase and a protease while also identifying specific chitinases that are expressed by Nepenthes ventricosa. We were able to successfully clone NrCHIT1 from a mature Nepenthes ventricosa pitcher via a TOPO-vector system. In order to asses enzymatic expression, we utilized RT-qPCR on pitchers treated with chitin, BSA, or water. Unfortunately, we were unable to draw definitive conclusions about the coordinate expression of the digestive enzymes.
Recommended Citation
Lenninger, Zephyr Anne, "The Coordinate Regulation of Digestive Enzymes in the Pitchers of Nepenthes ventricosa" (2020). Honors Program Theses. 120.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/honors/120
Rights Holder
Zephyr Lenninger