WHAT’S INSIGHT
STEALING SUGAR AND KILLING FOR NITROGEN
Common butterwort – Pinguicula vulgaris by Björn S..., 2015, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/ photos/40948266@N04/18350804581/ in/photostream). CC BY-SA 2.0.
British Columbia’s Outlaw Plants
By Dr. Ken Marr Curator of Botany
Illustration of a butterwort plant.
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ugar is life! Photosynthesis, arguably the most important chemical reaction on Earth, uses the sun’s energy to combine carbon dioxide and water to form sugar and oxygen. Sugar is the energy currency of ecosystems. Complex assemblages of primary producers (plants, algae and some bacteria—the only organisms in which photosynthesis occurs), herbivores and carnivores (animals), and decomposers (fungi and bacteria) depend directly on the metabolism of sugar.
Nitrogen is equally important to life. Soil bacteria convert nitrogen gas into a form that can be absorbed by plant roots. Nitrogen atoms are present in every amino acid— the molecules that form protein—and in DNA, the genetic code of life. Alkaloids, molecules that include a nitrogen atom within a ring of carbon atoms, do a great deal for us: they keep us alert (caffeine) and treat our pain (morphine). Often bitter-tasting, alkaloids also deter insects from feeding upon plants. (continues next page)
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