Category: Members

Information on parasitic and non-parasitic weed occurrence within croplands is vital but is often unavailable to support weeding practices and improve cropland productivity assessments. Until now, few studies have been conducted to estimate weed abundances within agroecological systems from spaceborne images over wide-area landscapes, particularly for the genus Striga. In this study, we attempt to […]

Open Access, Research Review, New Phytologist,  https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17271 Authors: Immaculate M. Mwangangi, Lucie Büchi, Stephan M. Haefele, Lammert Bastiaans, Steven Runo & Jonne Rodenburg In this review paper we explore the potential of improved plant nutrition to fortify the expression of plant inherent resistance and tolerance against Striga in cereals. Beyond reviewing advances in parasitic plant research, we assess relevant […]

This review paper published in New Phytologist (Mutuku et al., 2021) illustrates recent progress on the molecular interaction between Orobanchaceae parasites and hosts with special focus on the processes during parasites’ germination and infection. It also highlights several genetic factors and hormones in parasitic plants important for sensing and targeting host based on the recent […]

Parasitic plants are highly diverse in terms of their evolutionary history, life cycles, growth habits, structure, etc. Even the haustorium, which “embodies the idea of plant parasitism”, varies widely among and within parasite groups. But if we look past conspicuous differences, what can we learn about haustorium structure and evolution? Is there a common pattern […]

A recent publication of researchers from Zhejiang University (China), University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Université de Toulouse (France) and Guangdong Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou (China) in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences describes the virulence mechanisms of parasitic plants and resistance mechanisms in their hosts, focusing on obligate root parasites of the Orobanchaceae. Parasitic […]

This paper published in British & Irish Botany this year (2020, 2(3): 223-239) might be of interest to IPPS members who work on the genus Orobanche or other taxonomically challenging parasitic plant genera. The paper highlights the presence of cryptic, previously overlooked taxa in the widespread and variable species O. minor. Specifically, two new varieties […]

The paper published in Taxon this year (2020, 69 (1): 5-27) might be of interest to many of the IPPS members. This is the first comprehensive survey of all parasitic plants that reviews the number of times these organisms evolved and tabulates the number of genera and species. Hopefully it will prove useful to many […]

Plant-parasitic plants are fascinating examples of plant evolution. They live in balance with other organisms in natural ecosystems, in contrast to most parasitic weeds that severely attack crops, reducing their yield and rendering agricultural lands uncultivable worldwide. The control of parasitic weeds is challenging because of the lack of control methods that are selective enough […]

Mutants that reveal the secrets of how plants attack? No, it’s not a scene from a science fiction movie, but you could be forgiven for thinking that. Instead, it’s a scene from real life: Researchers Cui et al. at Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan report in a new study in Science Advances […]

Working together with researchers from the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, biologists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta spp. as a parasite. The plant has a protein in its cell walls that is identified as ‘foreign’ by Cuscuta Receptor […]