Carnivorous plant genomes

Carnivorous plant genome research has focused on members of the Lamiales and Oxalidales; the most complete sequences are for Utricularia gibba and Cephalotus follicularis. The size-limited U. gibba genome highlights the importance of small-scale tandem duplications, which likely play roles in this species’ carnivorous adaptation. Sequencing of the C. follicularis genome detected adaptive changes that may explain the evolution of traits associated with attraction, trapping, digestion, and absorption. Functional consequences of genes putatively missing in the U. gibba genome, yet present in other angiosperms, may have influenced the evolution of polyploidy, physiology, and a rootless Bauplan. Additional draft nuclear genomes and transcriptomes are available for carnivorous Caryophyllales, Ericales, Lamiales, and Poales, but are limited in quantity and quality. Chloroplast genomes of carnivorous Lentibulariaceae have revealed interesting patterns of gene loss, alterations in the proportion of repeat DNA, and plastome-wide increases in substitution rates.