Category: Members

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Parasitic plants are notorious for causing serious agricultural losses in many countries. Specialized intrusive organs, haustoria, confer on parasitic plants the ability to acquire water and nutrients from their host plants. Investigating the mechanism involved in haustorium development not only reveals the fascinating mystery of how autotrophic plants evolved parasitism but also provides the foundation […]

Effects from parasitism and parasitic litter input can affect the decomposition of litter, but the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesized that the decomposition of litter produced by the holoparasite Cuscuta australis is promoted more strongly by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) than the litter of its host Bidens pilosa and that parasitism by C. australis can […]