January 2023
A research review by a Crop Science Centre scientist and a UC Davis scientist has summarised our current understanding of how the stem parasitic plants Cuscuta species, known as dodders, develop the specialised organs, called haustoria, which confer the ability to acquire water and nutrients from their host plants.
Lead author, Dr Min-Yao Jhu at the Crop Science Centre, said, “This review not only reveals the fascinating mystery of how plants evolved parasitism, but also provides the foundation for developing more effective methods to control the agricultural damage caused by parasitic plants.”
Parasitic plants are notorious for causing billions of USD worth of agricultural losses globally each year. Progress has been made recently in understanding the evolution and development of haustoria in root parasitic plants. Yet, increasing studies indicate that behaviours of haustorium formation between root and stem parasites are distinct, and the formation mechanisms of these organs in stem parasitic plants remain largely unknown.
Interestingly, although most root parasitic plants can avoid attacking themselves or closely related species, this does not appear to be the case with dodders.
This review also outlines the advantages of using dodders as model organisms for studying haustorium development in stem holoparasitic plants, the mysteries and limitations in the dodder system, and potential future research directions to overcome these challenges.
News
February 2024
Two genetic factors previously linked to above-ground shoot development are essential to differentiate symbiotic root nodules from lateral roots
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December 2023
CRISPR: The cutting-edge solution to tackle parasitic plant threats
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June 2023
Visit us at the Festival of Plants
News
May 2023
Uta Paszkowski elected to the German National Academy of Sciences
News
May 2023
Giles Oldroyd appointed British Science Festival Section President
News
April 2023
New grant to develop COVID vaccine-like technology to revolutionise the study of plant-parasites
News
March 2023
The Precision Breeding Bill has passed into law
News
March 2023
A road map toward self-fertilising cereal crops
News
February 2023
New microscopy suite builds the Crop Science Centre’s capability
News
January 2023
Cambridge-led consortium receives $35m to boost crop production sustainably in sub-Saharan Africa
News
November 2022
Beneficial fungi induce lateral root development via a generic mechanism
News
October 2022
Discovery of a new mechanism for enhancing symbiotic interactions
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