Venus flytraps capture their prey using leaves modified into traps. The traps are triggered by the stimulation of epidermal hairs, which generate an electrical action potential (AP) that closes the trap and, with sufficient further stimulation, sets off a signalling cascade that results in a build-up of jasmonic acid (JA) and the activation of jasmonate-dependent gene expression. This then leads to digestive enzymes being secreted into the trap.

A recent paper by Andrej Pavlovič and colleagues, published in Annals of Botany, asks whether a volatile anaesthetic that inhibits neuronal transmission in animals could act similarly on the electrical signals in a plant. The authors treated Venus flytraps with the anaesthetic diethyl ether contained in a polypropylene bag around the plant, measuring trap responsiveness, electrical signalling, hormonal response, and gene expression as the trigger hairs were stimulated or the plants wounded. They also determined the recovery time of the plants after the removal of the anaesthetic.