Article
Plant Sciences
Yuchao Chen, Yi Kuang, Liyang Shi, Xing Wang, Haoyu Fu, Shengxiang Yang, Diego A. Sampietro, Luqi Huang, Yuan Yuan
Summary: Orobanche and Striga are parasitic weeds well adapted to their host plants, and are difficult to eliminate. Suicidal germination induced by synthetic analogs like 7BrGR24 and 7FGR24 is a promising option for weed control. These new compounds show strong seed germination promotion for Orobanche cumana and have potential for controlling parasitic weeds.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jia Xin Yap, Yuichiro Tsuchiya
Summary: The root parasitic plant Striga hermonthica senses strigolactones from host plants to germinate. It has been found that the plant hormone gibberellins increase the sensitivity of Striga seeds to strigolactones by up-regulating the expression of strigolactone receptors. This reveals the indirect role of gibberellins in seed germination in Striga compared to their dominant role in non-parasitic plants.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chris Parker
Summary: This invited paper provides a summary of the author's career, focusing on research and related activities on Striga and other parasitic weeds. It also offers a personal perspective on the current status of parasitic weed issues and their management.
Article
Plant Sciences
Harro Bouwmeester, Changsheng Li, Benjamin Thiombiano, Mehran Rahimi, Lemeng Dong
Summary: Parasitic plants connect to their host plants' vasculature to absorb water and nutrients, requiring coordination of their lifecycle with the host. The germination response to chemical host signals is a key trait in parasitic plants, playing a crucial role in understanding their evolution and developing control measures.
Review
Plant Sciences
Maxwell R. Fishman, Ken Shirasu
Summary: The lifecycle of parasitic plants includes pre-attachment and post-attachment phases, where plant resistance to parasitic plants can be categorized into pre-attachment and post-attachment resistance. Recent research has begun to uncover genetic elements promoting pre-attachment resistance in the host, while post-attachment resistance may involve common molecular mechanisms with plant-pathogen interactions. Parasitic plants secrete effectors post attachment to evade host immune responses.
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Maurizio Vurro
Summary: This article provides an overview of the limitations of traditional weed management methods and the failures of biological control in controlling parasitic weeds. However, due to scientific and technological advancements, the bioherbicide approach deserves renewed interest and may offer new chances of success.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Satoshi Ogawa, Takanori Wakatake, Thomas Spallek, Juliane K. Ishida, Ryosuke Sano, Tetsuya Kurata, Taku Demura, Satoko Yoshida, Yasunori Ichihashi, Andreas Schaller, Ken Shirasu
Summary: This study investigated the gene expression in the intrusive cells of the facultative parasite Phtheirospermum japonicum and identified the important role of subtilisin-like serine proteases (SBTs) in haustorium development. The expression of SBT inhibitors inhibited intrusive cell and XB development, indicating the crucial role of subtilase activity in parasite-host interaction.
Article
Agronomy
Diego Rubiales, Sara Fondevilla, Monica Fernandez-Aparicio
Summary: This research successfully developed advanced pea breeding lines with resistance to broomrape through wide crosses with resistant parents, and confirmed their resistance and agronomic performance through field trials and rhizotron experiments, showing promising yield potential in environments with high broomrape incidence.
Article
Plant Sciences
Markus Albert, Michael J. Axtell, Michael P. Timko
Summary: Parasitic plants pose a significant threat to plant growth and crop productivity, with some host plants evolving defense strategies to avoid infection or actively protect themselves. Current understanding of host plant defense mechanisms against parasitic plants is being reviewed, with future studies expected to contribute to the development and breeding of resistant crops.
Article
Plant Sciences
Justine Braguy, Merey Ramazanova, Silvio Giancola, Muhammad Jamil, Boubacar A. Kountche, Randa Zarban, Abrar Felemban, Jian You Wang, Pei-Yu Lin, Imran Haider, Matias Zurbriggen, Bernard Ghanem, Salim Al-Babili
Summary: The article introduces an automatic seed counting tool, SeedQuant, which can count and distinguish germinated seeds from non-germinated seeds, providing great assistance in seed germination bioassays and enabling high-throughput screening. The software combines deep learning and computer vision technology to accurately count and identify seeds, significantly improving experimental efficiency.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Satoshi Ogawa, Songkui Cui, Alexandra R. F. White, David C. Nelson, Satoko Yoshida, Ken Shirasu
Summary: Parasitic plants use strigolactones as chemoattractants to locate and grow towards their hosts. The chemotropism to strigolactones is influenced by ammonium ion-rich conditions, resulting in reduced chemotropic ability. There are noticeable differences in the chemotropism to strigolactones between parasitic and non-parasitic plants in the Orobanchaceae family.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Muhammad Jamil, Jian You Wang, Djibril Yonli, Rohit H. Patil, Mohammed Riyazaddin, Prakash Gangashetty, Lamis Berqdar, Guan-Ting Erica Chen, Hamidou Traore, Ouedraogo Margueritte, Binne Zwanenburg, Satish Ekanath Bhoge, Salim Al-Babili
Summary: A new formulation has been developed for the eradication of Striga hermonthica seeds, showing promising results in laboratory and field experiments. This paves the way for integrating suicidal germination approach into sustainable Striga management strategies for African agriculture.
Article
Agronomy
Muhammad Jamil, Jian You Wang, Lamis Berqdar, Yagiz Alagoz, Ahmed Behisi, Salim Al-Babili
Summary: The root-parasitic plant Striga hermonthica poses a significant threat to cereal production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Inducing suicidal germination of Striga seeds is a promising strategy to deplete the seed bank in infested soils. This study explores the potential of cytokinins as germination agents and demonstrates the efficacy of thidiazuron in inducing Striga seed germination.
Article
Plant Sciences
Taiki Suzuki, Michio Kuruma, Yoshiya Seto
Summary: Root parasitic plants cause significant damage to crop production, and using strigolactone (SL) analogs as suicidal germination inducers is an effective strategy. By developing a series of new SL analogs derived from cinnamic acid (CA), it was found that the cis-CA-derived analogs had stronger seed germination-inducing activity for root parasitic plants compared to the trans-CA-derived analogs, and introducing a substitution at the C-4 position increased their activity. Moreover, the cis-CA-derived SL analogs interacted more effectively with SL receptor proteins and promoted the growth of Arabidopsis.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Satoshi Ogawa, Ken Shirasu
Summary: Phtheirospermum japonicum, a facultative hemiparasitic plant, can germinate and grow in the presence or absence of the host, depending on the ambient nitrogen conditions and host-derived strigolactones (SLs).
PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Monica Fernandez-Aparicio, Lidia del Moral, Stephane Munos, Leonardo Velasco, Begona Perez-Vich
Summary: This study successfully located the sunflower broomrape resistance gene Or(Deb2) in the sunflower genome and identified a cluster of potential candidate genes. Rhizotron and histological studies demonstrated that Or(Deb2) confers post-attachment resistance to Orobanche cumana, blocking the establishment of host-parasite vascular connections.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Eleonora Barilli, Francisco J. Agudo, Marco Masi, Paola Nocera, Antonio Evidente, Diego Rubiales
Summary: This study evaluated the potential of anthraquinone compounds isolated from Ascochyta lentis for controlling rust and powdery mildew diseases in pea and oat. The results showed that these compounds strongly inhibited fungal development and one of them exhibited efficacy similar to a commercial fungicide in whole plant assays.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Carmen Santos, Davide Coelho Martins, Maria Jose Gonzalez-Bernal, Diego Rubiales, Maria Carlota Vaz Patto
Summary: In this study, a combination of phenotyping, gene expression, and linkage mapping was used to prioritize four candidate genes relevant for disease-resistance precision breeding in Lathyrus cicera. These genes are involved in adaptation to biotic stress, cellular and organelle homeostasis, and proteins directly involved in plant defense.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Davide Coelho Martins, Diego Rubiales, Maria Carlota Vaz Patto
Summary: This study investigated the genetic architecture of grass pea resistance to Uromyces pisi using a genome-wide association approach, revealing promising sources of partial resistance and advancing understanding of molecular mechanisms.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicolas Rispail, Osman Zakaria Wohor, Salvador Osuna-Caballero, Eleonora Barilli, Diego Rubiales
Summary: By studying the genetic diversity and population structure of a core collection of 325 pea accessions, it was found that the Pisum genus can be classified into two species, P. fulvum and P. sativum, and wild alleles were incorporated into the cultivated pea through the intermediate species P. sativum subsp. jomardii and P. sativum subsp. arvense during pea domestication. These findings have important implications for breeding programs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Eleonora Barilli, Diego Rubiales
Summary: In this study, a large germplasm collection of cultivated lentils and its wild relatives were screened for resistance against lentil rust. The results showed the presence of accessions with hypersensitive reaction-based resistance and partial resistance, as well as the potential for developing a standard differential set for rust definition and monitoring.
Article
Plant Sciences
Antonio Moreno-Robles, Antonio Cala Peralta, Jesus G. Zorrilla, Gabriele Soriano, Marco Masi, Susana Vilarino-Rodriguez, Alessio Cimmino, Monica Fernandez-Aparicio
Summary: This study investigates the inhibitory effects of trans-cinnamic acid and its derivatives on the growth of Cuscuta campestris, a parasitic weed causing significant yield losses in crops. The findings reveal that some derivatives of trans-cinnamic acid exhibit enhanced growth inhibition activity against C. campestris seedlings, with the methyl ester derivative being the most active compound. This structure-activity relationship study provides valuable information for the design of herbicidal treatments targeting parasitic weeds.
Review
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Maryam Bagheri, Carla S. Santos, Diego Rubiales, Marta W. Vasconcelos
Summary: Drought, caused by climate change, is a significant obstacle for crop yield. It can hinder plant growth, disrupt water relations, and reduce water use efficiency. Pea, a protein-rich grain legume, has several drought resistance mechanisms through morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. Strategies like screening, breeding, and marker-assisted selection have been used to manage drought tolerance in peas. Biotechnological approaches have also led to the development of drought-tolerant pea cultivars.
ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Francisco J. Agudo-Jurado, Pierluigi Reveglia, Diego Rubiales, Antonio Evidente, Eleonora Barilli
Summary: Fungal phytotoxins, as secondary metabolites toxic to host plants, play a role in the development of symptoms in legume diseases by targeting host cellular machineries or interfering with host immune responses. This review focuses on the isolation, chemical and biological characterization of fungal phytotoxins produced by necrotrophic fungi involved in legume diseases. The possible role in plant-pathogen interaction and structure-toxicity relationship studies are also discussed. Additionally, multidisciplinary studies on other biological activities of reviewed phytotoxins are described, along with the challenges in identifying new fungal metabolites and their potential applications in future experiments.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Elsa Mecha, Mara Lisa Alves, Andreia Bento da Silva, Ana Barbara Pereira, Diego Rubiales, Maria Carlota Vaz Patto, Maria Rosario Bronze
Summary: To ensure food security and environmental sustainability, legumes are being sought as alternative protein sources. This study characterizes the protein content and quality of legumes, including underutilized grain legumes, and highlights their adaptability to European agricultural systems. Through multivariate analysis, intra- and inter-species variability was identified. Grass pea had the highest protein content but not the highest individual amino acid content and in vitro protein digestibility. Lentil was highlighted for its amino acid content and in vitro protein digestibility. This study brings attention to legume species that are not commonly used in Western diets.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rind Balech, Fouad Maalouf, Somanagouda B. Patil, Karthika Rajendran, Lynn Abou Khater, Diego Rubiales, Shiv Kumar
Summary: Assessing the adaptability and stability of herbicide-tolerant lentil accessions in multi-environment trials is crucial for improving breeding programs. This study investigated the adaptability and stability of 42 herbicide-tolerant lentil accessions using five stability parameters in eight different environments. Genotype-Environment interaction was significant for flowering and maturity time, as well as seed yield. Different stability parameters ranked the accessions differently, highlighting the importance of using a combination of parameters for evaluation. GGE biplot analysis showed that certain accessions were specifically adapted to certain environments and should be included in breeding programs to develop herbicide-tolerant cultivars.
Article
Microbiology
Angel M. Villegas-Fernandez, Ahmed A. Amarna, Juan Moral, Diego Rubiales
Summary: This study assessed the feasibility of using intercropping or mixtures of susceptible and resistant cultivars to control faba bean rust. Results showed that intercropping with barley significantly reduced rust severity on faba bean, while other combinations had no effect. The barrier effect of barley was identified as the main mechanism explaining rust suppression. Cultivar mixture experiments also showed that rust severity decreased as the proportion of the resistant cultivar increased.
Article
Microbiology
Pierluigi Reveglia, Francisco J. Agudo-Jurado, Eleonora Barilli, Marco Masi, Antonio Evidente, Diego Rubiales
Summary: Different fungal species of Colletotrichum genus cause anthracnose disease in major crops, resulting in significant economic losses globally. This study utilized the OSMAC approach integrated with targeted and non-targeted metabolomics profiling to investigate the secondary phytotoxic metabolites produced by pathogenic isolates of Colletotrichum truncatum and Colletotrichum trifolii. The phytotoxicity of the fungal crude extracts was also evaluated on their primary hosts and related legumes, correlating with the metabolite profile under different cultural conditions.
Review
Agronomy
Diego Rubiales, Eleonora Barilli, Nicolas Rispail
Summary: This article provides an overview of recent advancements in the genetic and genomic resource development of peas, including the integration of resistance genes and the mapping of genes/QTLs. By combining conventional and modern breeding strategies, genetic gains can be significantly enhanced.
Article
Plant Sciences
Susana Trindade Leitao, Diego Rubiales, Maria Carlota Vaz Patto
Summary: In this study, new sources of rust resistance were identified in the Portuguese germplasm of common bean. Disease severity-associated SNPs and candidate genes were identified, indicating the diverse genetic mechanisms of rust resistance in bean. These findings provide promising genomic targets for developing molecular tools to support precision breeding for rust resistance in beans.
