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The ability of the Venus Flytrap to capture insects is due to -
A
Rapid turgor pressure changes
B
A passive process requiring no special ability on the part of the plant
C
Specialized 'muscle-like' cells
D
Chemical stimulation by the prey
Detailed Solution
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is an insectivorous plant. Each leaf has two lobes bearing sensitive trigger hairs.
When an insect touches the trigger hairs (usually twice), an electrical signal is generated.
This causes a rapid change in the turgor pressure of the cells at the midrib and in the lobes, as water moves rapidly out of some cells and into others.
As a result the lobes snap shut in a fraction of a second and the marginal bristles interlock, trapping the insect.
Plants do not have muscle cells, and the closure is an active response of the plant, not a passive one; chemical stimulation by the prey only keeps the trap closed for digestion.
So the ability of the Venus flytrap to capture insects is due to rapid turgor pressure changes.
When an insect touches the trigger hairs (usually twice), an electrical signal is generated.
This causes a rapid change in the turgor pressure of the cells at the midrib and in the lobes, as water moves rapidly out of some cells and into others.
As a result the lobes snap shut in a fraction of a second and the marginal bristles interlock, trapping the insect.
Plants do not have muscle cells, and the closure is an active response of the plant, not a passive one; chemical stimulation by the prey only keeps the trap closed for digestion.
So the ability of the Venus flytrap to capture insects is due to rapid turgor pressure changes.