Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It is said to be named Venus flytrap because the prickly hairs on the edges of its leaves resemble the long eyelashes of the ancient Roman goddess Venus. The main feature of this plant is its ability to rapidly close its leaves (about 0.2 seconds) to capture small insects, making it a carnivorous plant. Currently, genome editing technology for carnivorous plants has not been reported, and the genetic transformation bottleneck of non-model plants also limits the study of their gene function.

 

Recently, Researchers led by Joanne Chory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to reveal the Venus Flytrap plant's insect-catching mechanism. By editing the FLYC1 and FLYC2 genes, the team found that these genes jointly regulate the plant's response to external stimuli. The study also developed a new ultrasonic stimulation strategy for studying plant trap physiology.