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. 2025 Sep 25.
doi: 10.1111/nph.70544. Online ahead of print.

Convergent losses of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in carnivorous plants

Héctor Montero  1   2 , Matthias Freund  2 , Kenji Fukushima  1   2   3
Affiliations

Convergent losses of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in carnivorous plants

Héctor Montero et al. New Phytol. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Most land plants form the ancient arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, while carnivory is a younger trait that evolved in several angiosperm orders. The two biotic interactions similarly help plants acquire mineral nutrients, raising the question of whether they can coexist. However, the mycorrhizal status of carnivorous plants has long remained speculative. We surveyed the occurrence of AM-associated genes across carnivorous plant lineages, performed AM fungal inoculation assays, and microscopically evaluated the patterns of colonization. We found convergent losses of the AM trait either coincident with or predating the emergence of carnivory. Exceptionally, the carnivorous plant Roridula gorgonias retains symbiosis-related genes and forms arbuscules. The youngest carnivorous lineage, Brocchinia reducta, showed signatures of the early stages of AM trait loss. An AM-associated CHITINASE gene encodes a digestive enzyme in the carnivorous plant Cephalotus, suggesting gene co-option. We uncovered a mutually exclusive trend of AM symbiosis and carnivory, with only rare instances of coexistence. These findings illuminate the largely unexplored processes by which plant nutritional strategies evolve and supplant one another over time.

La mayoría de las plantas terrestres forman la ancestral simbiosis micorrízica arbuscular (MA), mientras que la carnivoría es un rasgo más reciente que evolucionó en varios órdenes de angiospermas. Ambas interacciones bióticas ayudan a las plantas a adquirir nutrientes minerales, lo que plantea la cuestión de si pueden coexistir. Sin embargo, el estado micorrízico de las plantas carnívoras ha sido objeto de especulación durante mucho tiempo. Estudiamos la presencia de genes asociados a la MA en linajes de plantas carnívoras, realizamos ensayos de inoculación de hongos MA y evaluamos microscópicamente los patrones de colonización. Encontramos pérdidas convergentes del rasgo MA coincidentes o anteriores a la aparición de la carnivoría. Excepcionalmente, la planta carnívora Roridula gorgonias conserva genes relacionados con la simbiosis y forma arbúsculos. El linaje carnívoro más reciente, Brocchinia reducta, mostró indicios de las primeras etapas de la pérdida del rasgo MA. Un gen CHITINASE asociado a AM codifica una enzima digestiva en la planta carnívora Cephalotus, lo que sugiere una cooptación génica. Descubrimos una tendencia mutuamente excluyente entre la simbiosis MA y la carnivoría, con solo raros casos de coexistencia. Estos hallazgos arrojan luz sobre los procesos, en gran parte inexplorados, mediante los cuales las estrategias nutricionales de las plantas evolucionan y se sustituyen mutuamente con el tiempo.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis; carnivory; convergent evolution; gene loss; nutritional strategy.

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References

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