Updated

Updated · ScienceAlert · Jun 15

Researchers Show Venus Flytraps Snap in 0.2 Seconds by Softening Outer Cell Walls

Updated

Updated · ScienceAlert · Jun 15

Researchers Show Venus Flytraps Snap in 0.2 Seconds by Softening Outer Cell Walls

Q: A new theory explains the flytrap's snap, but what mystery molecule is the key to its rapid power?

The key molecule is not yet known. Forterre’s team says the Venus flytrap’s snap is driven by an electric signal and a calcium wave that soften the outer cell walls in about a second, releasing stored mechanical stress and letting the trap bend shut. But the specific molecule or molecular pathway that makes that wall-softening happen remains unidentified. What the new work does establish is that the old water-pumping explanation is too slow: direct measurements found water movement takes 30 to 60 seconds, while the trap closes in less than a second. Using mechanical measurements on immobilized traps, the researchers observed a rapid loss of stiffness in the outer epidermis, which they argue is the real power source behind the snap. As for the “mystery molecule,” the evidence so far points only to candidates, not an answer. Calcium-linked changes in cell-wall chemistry are one possibility, and researchers may also look at wall-loosening proteins or cellulose-network dynamics. But the study itself does not identify a definitive molecule. So the mystery now is narrower than before: scientists appear to have found the physical mechanism of the snap, but not yet the exact biochemical trigger that gives the flytrap its rapid power.

3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Jun 15

A Venus flytrap’s rapid closure starts with its outer cell walls losing about 40% of their rigidity, letting the leaf bend to a tipping point before snapping shut in 0.2 seconds.
Water transport across the trap would take roughly 30 to 150 seconds, the team found, making the long-standing hydraulic explanation far too slow for movements that begin on about a 1-second timescale.
Cut-strip and clamp-open experiments showed a slower active bending phase precedes the final snap-buckling stage, helping isolate the trigger from the trap’s mechanical release.
The study suggests the plant repurposes a standard growth process—cell-wall softening—into a muscle-free predatory mechanism, offering clues for bioinspired actuators and raising new questions about how such adaptations evolved.