Parasitic plants initiate haustorium formation—a critical step in parasitism and nutrient acquisition—by recognizing haustorium inducing factors (HIFs) from their hosts. However, the mechanisms by which these plants sense and transduce host-derived signals during early development remain poorly understood. Previous research has identified lignin monomers and their precursors, notably G- and S-type monolignols produced during lignin […]

The ability of parasitic plants to withdraw nutrients from their hosts depends on the formation of an infective structure known as the haustorium. How parasites regulate their haustoria numbers is poorly understood, and here, we uncovered that existing haustoria in the facultative parasitic plants Phtheirospermum japonicum and Parentucellia viscosa suppressed the formation of new haustoria located on distant roots. […]

A recent study by Gabriela S. Olivares et al., conducted in the southern South American temperate rainforests, revealed how habitat structure influences the behavior of the arboreal marsupial Dromiciops bozinovici and the genetic diversity of two mistletoe species (Tristerix corymbosus and Desmaria mutabilis). Using camera traps and DNA sequencing, we found that D. bozinovici visits T. corymbosus more frequently in evergreen forests and D. […]

Parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae family cause substantial economic losses and pose significant threats to global agriculture. However, management of these parasites is challenging, and very few resistance genes have been cloned and characterized in depth. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study using 152 tomato accessions and identified SlABCG45 as a key gene that […]

*** Online survey on parasitic weeds in Europe ***  Please help us to reach out to farmers and extension/research professional working with farmers in Europe for this online survey on parasitic weeds! You can access the English. French or Dutch versions (IT/ES/PT/ DE versions follow soon) here: tinyurl.com/parasiticweeds   […]