Infestation by the parasitic weed Striga is a major cause of cereal crop production losses on smallholder farms in Africa. Essential plant nutrients play an important indirect role in parasite seed germination, the first prerequisite for successful parasitism. Here, we demonstrate that increasing the nutrient availability for the host plant can also impede Striga development […]
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Complete chloroplast genomes of five Cuscuta species and their evolutionary significance in the Cuscuta genus
Background Cuscuta, a parasitic plant species in the Convolvulaceae family, grows in many countries and regions. However, the relationship between some species is still unclear. Therefore, more studies are needed to assess the variation of the chloroplast (cp) genome in Cuscuta species and their relationship with subgenera or sections, thus, providing important information on the […]
Publication: Trans-species microRNA loci in the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris have a U6-like snRNA promoter
Cuscuta campestris produces many unique microRNAs only at the haustorial interface with hosts. Our previously published work showed that these interface-induced microRNAs can target host messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The targeted host mRNAs generally function in immune responses, vascular system functions, or hormone signal transduction. Our overall hypothesis is that the Cuscuta interface-induced microRNAs act in […]
Role of Strigolactones in the Host-Specificity of Broomrapes and Witchweeds
Root parasitic plants of the Orobanchaceae, broomrapes and witchweeds, pose a severe problem to agriculture in Europe, Asia, and especially Africa. These parasites are totally dependent on their host for survival, and therefore their germination is tightly regulated by host presence. Indeed, their seeds remain dormant in the soil until a host root is detected […]
Resource availability and parasitism intensity influence the response of soybean to the parasitic plant Cuscuta australis
Introduction: Parasitic plants can damage crop plants and consequently cause yield losses and thus threaten food security. Resource availability (e.g., phosphorus, water) has an important role in the response of crop plants to biotic attacks. However, how the growth of crop plants under parasitism are affected by environmental resource fluctuation is poorly understood. Methods: We […]
Transcriptome analysis reveals defense-related genes and pathways during dodder (Cuscuta australis) parasitism on white clover (Trifolium repens)
Dodders (Cuscuta australis R. Br.) are holo-parasitic stem angiosperms with an extensive host range that have significant ecological and economic potential impact on the ecosystem and the agricultural system. However, how the host plant responds to this biotic stress remains mostly unexplored. To identify the defense-related genes and the pathways in white clover (Trifolium repens […]
How the mistletoe infects a host tree?
A research that talks about the molecular infective process of the Psittacanthus calyculathus mistletoe on mesquite trees. Lignocellulolytic enzymes, proteins, phytohormones and proteases involved in the infectious process were analyzed. It is an open access article with freely downloadable at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/3/464 […]
Mistletoe flowers that manipulate the behavior of flower visitors
Mistletoe flowers that showed different pollinator syndromes (traits) that are able to engage and manipulate the behavior of flower visitors and contribute to the reproduction of the parasitic plant. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01031/full […]
Publication
A ‘Perspective’ article entitled ‘Are root parasitic broomrapes still a good target for bioherbicide control?’ has been recently published in Pest Management Science, with me as the author. It is an open-access article freely downloadable at the following address: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7360 This paper was presented orally at the workshop ‘Overcoming the barriers to adoption of microbial […]
Phenotypic diversity in pre- and post-attachment resistance to Striga hermonthica in a core collection of rice germplasms
In sub‐Saharan Africa, rice is the third‐largest source of food energy, with a rising demand due to population growth and changes in eating habits. The expansion of rice cultivation by converting fallow, maize, and sorghum fields into rainfed rice fields is one method that will help to close the gap between rice demand and production […]