Review
Plant Sciences
Ivanela A. Albanova, Lyuben I. Zagorchev, Denitsa R. Teofanova, Mariela K. Odjakova, Lyudmila I. Kutueva, Vasily V. Ashapkin
Summary: Parasitic flowering plants are a diverse group of angiosperms that range from exotic species with limited distribution to prominent weeds that cause significant yield losses in agricultural crops. Their major damage is related to extracting water and nutrients from the host, resulting in decreased growth and seed production. Root parasites of the Orobanchaceae family and stem parasites of the Cuscuta genus are the most aggressive and damaging weeds, affecting both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops worldwide. Resistance cultivar selection is a promising approach to combat these weeds, but limited knowledge of host resistance mechanisms hinders its widespread use.
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
David C. Nelson
Summary: Strigolactones are chemical signals that play a crucial role in the germination of parasitic plants that rely on hosts for survival. Understanding how parasites sense strigolactones and other host-derived stimulants is important in developing innovative chemical and biological control methods. Recent discoveries of strigolactone receptors in parasitic Orobanchaceae and their signaling mechanism provide valuable insights for further research in this field.
Review
Ecology
Meseret Muche, A. Muthama Muasya, Berhanu Abraha Tsegay
Summary: Mistletoes are a successful group of hemi-parasitic plants that obtain water and minerals from their hosts. Infection by mistletoes triggers host plant defenses and negatively impacts their growth and reproduction.
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Luiza Teixeira-Costa, Charles C. Davis
Summary: This review provides an overview of parasitic plant diversity and notable disjunct distributions based on an updated functional classification according to the life cycles of these plants.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vasily V. Ashapkin, Lyudmila I. Kutueva, Nadezhda I. Aleksandrushkina, Boris F. Vanyushin, Denitsa R. Teofanova, Lyuben I. Zagorchev
Summary: Parasitic plants extract nutrients from other plants to complete their life cycle and reproduction. The control of parasitic weeds is difficult due to their close physical association and biological relationship with their hosts. Recent progress in genome-wide analyses has revealed many new molecular details of the interactions between parasitic plants and their host plants, suggesting the involvement of both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sebastian A. Hatt, Duncan D. Cameron, Olwen M. Grace, Nicolas Rocamundi, Andrea A. Cocucci, Carlos Martel, Chris J. Thorogood
Summary: This article introduces the parasitic plant genus Prosopanche from Central and South America, describing its growth characteristics and aspects related to its ecology. The article also emphasizes the need for further research on Prosopanche and discusses its potential as a candidate for studying the evolutionary origin of parasitism in flowering plants.
PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chenglin Guo, Liuyan Qin, Yongling Ma, Jianlin Qin
Summary: The study identified differential metabolic and gene expression pathways between C. japonica interacting with the host plant and the non-host plant, providing insights into the metabolic mechanisms of dodder-host interactions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Karsten Fischer, Lena Anna-Maria Lachner, Stian Olsen, Maria Mulisch, Kirsten Krause
Summary: Parasitic plants rely on their hosts for nutrients and have interspecific cell connections, making them a promising system for studying plasmodesmata.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Thomas Bawin, Kirsten Krause
Summary: Plants modulate their growth to forage for resources, even though they are immobile. This is especially important for parasitic plants, which rely on other plants for resources. Some shoot parasites are able to integrate different types of cues for their growth. Understanding how parasitic plants integrate different cues is crucial for studying plant interactions and predicting the spread of parasites.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Enrique Ibarra-Laclette, Carlos Ariel Venancio-Rodriguez, Antonio Acini Vasquez-Aguilar, Alexandro G. Alonso-Sanchez, Claudia-Anahi Perez-Torres, Emanuel Villafan, Santiago Ramirez-Barahona, Sonia Galicia, Victoria Sosa, Eria A. Rebollar, Carlos Lara, Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Francisco Diaz-Fleisher, Juan Francisco Ornelas
Summary: In this study, we assembled the chloroplast genome of Psittacanthus schiedeanus using RNA-seq technology and observed changes in gene expression of the nuclear genomes in experimentally inoculated seeds. Differential expression genes (DEGs) were classified into six distinct clusters and enriched in functional categories related to synthesis, signaling, homoeostasis, and response to auxin and jasmonic acid. We propose that these genes participate in haustorium formation and suggest that mistletoe species secrete similar enzymes as fungi to parasitize and break through host tissues.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
C. Lara, L. Xicohtencatl-Lara, J. F. Ornelas
Summary: This study investigated the variation in reproductive traits of Psittacanthus calyculatus mistletoes on two different host tree species and at three different localities. The results showed differences in the quantity and quality of mistletoe production among different localities, but there was no significant difference in fruit formation probability, pollen viability, and other indicators among different hosts or localities. The observed differences in reproductive effort and success associated with host species or locality are proposed to be plastic or adaptive responses to varying conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Jiming Chen, David C. Nelson, Diwakar Shukla
Summary: Parasitic weeds like Striga cause significant losses in agricultural productivity. The activation mechanism of the strigolactone receptor remains unclear. Through molecular dynamics simulations, researchers discover that ligand hydrolysis enhances the activation of the receptor and the closing of the binding pocket is the main barrier to activation.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING
(2022)
Article
Biology
Skylar R. Hopkins, Cari M. McGregor, Lisa K. Belden, Jeremy M. Wojdak
Summary: In multi-host systems, the abundance, infectivity, and infection intensity of host species play a disproportionate role in maintaining symbionts. However, despite frequent opportunities for interspecific transmission, strong host preferences act as a barrier to transmission.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xi Gu, Ing-Gin Chen, Scott A. Harding, Batbayar Nyamdari, Maria A. Ortega, Kristen Clermont, James H. Westwood, Chung-Jui Tsai
Summary: Nonphotosynthetic holoparasites utilize flexible targeting of phylloquinone biosynthesis for plasma membrane redox signaling, with evidence of biosynthesis in Phelipanche aegyptiaca. This suggests a noncanonical role for phylloquinone in seed germination and haustorium development, with genes coexpressed with oxidoreductases involved in PM electron transport. Similar pathways are present in photoautotrophic taxa, indicating a potential ancient origin of multifunctionality.