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. 2025 Jul;247(2):445-449.
doi: 10.1111/nph.70260. Epub 2025 Jun 3.

Are carnivorous plants mixotrophic?

Qianshi Lin #  1   2 , Shuhan Sarah Yin #  1 , Martín Mata-Rosas  3 , Enrique Ibarra-Laclette  4 , Tanya Renner  1
Affiliations

Are carnivorous plants mixotrophic?

Qianshi Lin et al. New Phytol. 2025 Jul.
No abstract available

Keywords: adaptation; carbon (C) assimilation; heterotroph; mixotroph; nitrogen (N) assimilation; plant carnivory.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Average δ15N and δ13C in carnivorous plants compared to noncarnivorous relatives. Comparison of δ15N (a, mean ± SE) and δ13C (b, mean ± SE) among four carnivorous species (Drosera capensis, Drosera regia, Pinguicula agnata and Pinguicula gigantea) and two noncarnivorous relatives (Beta vulgaris and Ocimum basilicum), following exposure to 15N/13C‐labeled or unlabeled fruit flies for 1 wk. Significantly different values (P < 0.05) between labeled and unlabeled treatments are noted by an asterisk (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.005; ***, P < 0.0005; ****, P < 0.00005). (a) Average δ15N between control and enriched treatments in D. capensis and D. regia compared to B. vulgaris, and P. agnata and P. gigantea compared to O. basilicum. Carnivorous species show significant δ15N uptake between control and enriched treatments when compared to a noncarnivorous relative. (b) Average δ13C between control and enriched treatments in aforementioned species. Carnivorous species show significant δ13C uptake between control and enriched treatments when compared to a noncarnivorous relative.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percent carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transfer from prey to carnivorous plants. Percentage of C and N transferred from fruit flies to nonfed traps in four carnivorous species (Drosera capensis, Drosera regia, Pinguicula agnata and Pinguicula gigantea) after 1 wk. Generally, percent transfer of C is roughly half that of N in all species except for P. agnata, where percent transfer of C is nearly twice that of N.
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References

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