biostudies-literatureProcko CHHS | National Institutes of HealthHoward Hughes Medical InstituteNIGMS NIH HHSHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)e2206433119https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9335315biostudies-literatureUnknown119(30)Some of the most spectacular examples of botanical carnivory-in which predator plants catch and digest animals presumably to supplement the nutrient-poor soils in which they grow-occur within the Droseraceae family. For example, sundews of the genus <i>Drosera</i> have evolved leaf movements and enzyme secretion to facilitate prey digestion. The molecular underpinnings of this behavior remain largely unknown; however, evidence suggests that prey-induced electrical impulses are correlated with movement and production of the defense hormone jasmonic acid (JA), which may alter gene expression. In noncarnivorous plants, JA is linked to electrical activity via changes in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺. Here, we find that dynamic Ca²⁺ changes also occur in sundew (<i>Drosera spatulata</iProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaDynamic calcium signals mediate the feeding response of the carnivorous sundew plant.PMC93353155R35GM122604R35 GM12260455108530Chory JRadin IHaswell ESHou CProcko CRichardson RAfalseDynamic calcium signals mediate the feeding response of the carnivorous sundew plant.Some of the most spectacular examples of botanical carnivory-in which predator plants catch and digest animals presumably to supplement the nutrient-poor soils in which they grow-occur within the Droseraceae family. For example, sundews of the genus <i>Drosera</i> have evolved leaf movements and enzyme secretion to facilitate prey digestion. The molecular underpinnings of this behavior remain largely unknown; however, evidence suggests that prey-induced electrical impulses are correlated with movement and production of the defense hormone jasmonic acid (JA), which may alter gene expression. In noncarnivorous plants, JA is linked to electrical activity via changes in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺. Here, we find that dynamic Ca²⁺ changes also occur in sundew (<i>Drosera spatulata</i2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Jul2025-04-19T11:16:50.041Z2025-04-19T11:16:50.041ZS-EPMC93353153585845710.1073/pnas.2206433119