In this interviewDr. Skylar Johnson shares her exciting adventures and groundbreaking research on carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants in the lush rainforests of Borneo.
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What distinguishes pitcher plants from other carnivorous plants and makes them so unique?
Different carnivorous plants use different trapping mechanisms. Think of the Venus flytrap, which folds insects between its leaves or roots with micro-organism-spawning suction cavities. Nepenthes, on the other hand, takes a unique and, in my opinion, smart approach.
Pitcher-shaped leaves have specialized tissue on the lip with fine ridges. When it is dry, insects can walk along it safely.
But when it rains, the rims become slippery. The wet surface of the pitcher acts as a death trap, forcing the insects to hydrate in the cavity, suffocating and providing vital nutrients to the plant. It is as insidious as it is clever, displaying nature’s cunning adaptations.
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The death trap that suffocates insects looks like a black hole. Is this the focus of your research?
Exactly. I look at the liquid that drains the insects from the pitcher. This soup consists of water and digestive enzymes. However, the composition appears to vary among Nepenthes species.
An example is the viscoelastic component of soup, which helps form the ribbons on the surface of the jug, and the various proteases and phosphatases that aid digestion.
My main goal is to determine what is in the soup inside the pitchers and how the plant regulates these components during the life of the pitchers. Nepenthes can live a long time, but these arresting structures only last about 6 to 8 weeks.
Could you describe some of the bottlenecks and challenges you faced?
One of the most important challenges is the study of plants in their natural environment. While a lot of biochemistry can be done on a lab bench, plants grow outside. In this sense, the portability of the field equipment is the main obstacle in our current research.
Some groups have done good laboratory research, inducing protease expression after plant feeding. However, pitchers are not fed or monitored for 48 hours in the wild, so there is much more variability. In nature, these plants are exposed to a wider range of stimuli, and insects crawling over the edge of the pitcher may or may not fall.
How you used Byonoy GmbH’s devices in your project to understand these mechanisms in their natural environment?
Our work focused on investigating the composition of the liquid inside the pitchers, using spectrophotometers as our primary analytical tools. The portability of these devices proved useful during our trip to Borneo, allowing us to conduct experiments at field workstations.
We investigated the digestive properties of pitcher fluid by measuring protein concentrations and performing protease assays with Absorbance One. Absorbance 96 allowed us to analyze sugar levels using total carbohydrate assays. The data now form the foundation for ongoing research and we plan to submit a manuscript soon.
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What was your experimental setup like and how did your desert mission work?
Borneo’s botanical diversity is truly amazing – some plants mimic others simply for the sake of it, resulting in a fascinating environment. Despite being constantly flooded, the swamp provided an immersive experience. After the first day, I ditched my boots for sandals, turning it into a beach-themed adventure, which was delightful.
Our daily routine involved checking 16 pitchers on different plants. Each morning, we extracted fluid samples for analysis using a small kit that included test tubes and a pipette.
Since the university was so far away, we set up our makeshift lab at the outdoor station, which included pH meters, Absorption 96and Absorption One. Everything we needed had to fit in our suitcases, so it was quite an adventurous and resourceful endeavour.
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Which specific feature of Byonoy GmbH devices did you like the most? How do you think using them has affected your research?
One of the most attractive aspects of Byonoy GmbH’s devices is their portability. This was critical during our experiments because transporting samples to the nearest university, a two and a half hour drive away, was not feasible. The ease of conducting the analyzes on site was crucial.
In addition, the user-friendly software was a major plus. Its simplicity simplified the process and saved considerable time. Finally, the spectrophotometers were extremely reliable. Repeated measurements produced consistently accurate and reliable results.
How has the portability of Byonoy GmbH devices helped you overcome challenges during your journey?
The other spectrophotometers and microplate readers in the lab are too large to carry or carry in a suitcase on such a mission. The portability of Byonoy GmbH’s devices made the whole experiment possible. Otherwise, there would be no way to do experiments in the forest or swamp.
Do you have any exciting plans for future experiments, especially in terms of incorporating Byonoy GmbH devices into your upcoming projects?
We have exciting plans to investigate plant-pathogen interactions. One of the key analyzes on our agenda is the measurement of reactive oxygen species and the Absorbance 96, with its specific wavelengths, meets all the requirements for this type of analysis.
We plan to run an ELISA assay to look at specific proteins in the pitcher’s fluid, and the ability to measure at multiple wavelengths with the Absorbance 96 will be useful.
About Skylar Johnson
Dr. Skylar Johnson, fascinated by the allure of pitcher plants, pursued her Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Sciences at Washington State University (USA). He then joined the laboratory of Dr. Ulrike Bauer at the University of Bristol to delve into the study of Nepenthes pitcher plants. Her research took her to the lush rainforests of Brunei Darussalam on the island of Borneo, where she spent three months investigating the area’s botanical wonders.
About Byonoy
The Byonoy GmbH was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from Kiel University and is located in Hamburg. Our core competency is to develop innovative microplate readers based on photometric measurements for laboratory use.
Our goal is to facilitate the research and development process, give researchers new opportunities and make the advantages of advanced biotechnological methods accessible to a wide range of laboratories.
To realize a successful innovation process, our network is a decisive factor. Our partners help us realize our ideas and we are happy to share our expertise with them.
