Food competition in the tropics is not limited to two animals fighting over a single prey. In fact, carnivorous plants and fungi also compete for food, albeit at a much more molecular level. After an insect is trapped by a carnivorous plant, it falls into the plant’s “pitcher,” which contains enzymes needed to dissolve the insect and harness its nutrients. However, the medium in which this metabolism occurs is also a medium perfect for fungal proliferation. In order to prevent fungi from digesting the food first, the carnivorous Nepenthes khasiana also contain compounds in their pitcher that serve to destroy any fungi mooching for a meal.

A Tel Aviv University professor, Aviah Zilberstein, and her colleagues have been testing these compounds for future use as components in human anti-fungal medication. In addition to breaking down chitin of fungi, these compounds may also possess certain benefits over the current line of anti-fungal medications. For example, current medications catalyze the evolution of drug-resistant fungi, but these more natural compounds most likely will not. These compounds may also be able to help treat more severe fungal infections in humans, which are currently untreatable.

Discussion Question: Why do you think Nepenthes khasiana can help treat a variety of fungal illnesses?

News Article: http://www.physorg.com/news185727587.html
Paper Abstract: http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/erp359