Figure 6. Model of touch-induced movements in carnivorous Droseraceae plants.

(A) In Venus flytrap, mechanical stimulation of the trigger hair by a prey animal causes bending at the indentation zone sensory cells (1), leading to mechanically induced activation of mechanosensitive (MS) channels and chloride efflux (2). This triggers an action potential that propagates from the base of the sensory cells to cells of the podium via plasmodesmata (3) (Williams and Mozingo, 1971). Propagation of action potentials through the lobe of the leaf results in trap closure. (B) In sundew tentacles, the pulling of mucilage could lead to activation of DcFLYC1.1 and DcFLYC1.2 proteins in the outer cell layer of tentacle heads, triggering a propagating action potential down the tentacle stalk.