The carnivorous plant Dionaea possesses very sensitive mechanoreceptors. Upon contact with prey an action potential is triggered which, via an electrical network – comparable to the nervous system of vertebrates – rapidly closes its bivalved trap. The ‘hunting cycle’ comprises a constitutively activated mechanism for the rapid capture of prey, followed by a well-orchestrated sequence of activation of genes responsible for tight trap closure, digestion of the prey, and uptake of nutrients. Decisions on the step-by-step activation are based on ‘counting’ the number of stimulations of sensory organs. These remarkable animal-like skills in the carnivore are achieved not by taking over genes from its prey but by modifying and rearranging the functions of genes that are ubiquitous in plants.

食肉植物Dionaea具有非常敏感的机械感受器。一旦与猎物接触，就会触发动作电位，该动作电位通过类似于脊椎动物神经系统的电网迅速关闭其双瓣陷阱。“狩猎周期”包括一个组成性激活的机制，用于快速捕获猎物，然后是精心编排的激活序列，这些序列负责紧密捕集阱，捕食猎物和吸收养分。关于逐步激活的决定是基于“计数”感觉器官的刺激次数。这些在食肉动物中非凡的动物般的技能不是通过从猎物中获取基因，而是通过修饰和重新排列植物中普遍存在的基因的功能来实现的。