Over one per cent of flowering plants are parasitic and extract food and water from other plants. They have a profound effect on both natural and agricultural systems. They include evolutionary enigmas, for example plants that grow inside other plants, and ecosystem engineers, for example hemiparasites that regulate biodiversity in plant communities. Parasitic plants are […]
When I was asked to say a few words in memory of my friend and fellow strigologist, Abdul Gabbar Babiker, I did not expect all the accolades and affection that speakers at the 16th World Congress on Parasitic Plants (WCPP) in Nairobi rightly gave him, even having a presentation dedicated to him. I spent a […]
Our Research Scientist, Dr. Muhammad Jamil represented the CDA at the 16th World Congress on Parasitic Plants He shared the #StrigaSolutions team’s success stories achieved through their Bill & Melinda Gates-funded project and discussed the latest advancements in suicidal germination technology for effective control of the #Striga parasite in cereals. The congress was organized by […]
It is a tradition to award the best three posters at the World Congress for Parasitic Plants, supported by the International Parasitic Plant Society (IPPS). This year at WCPP16 in Nairobi (Kenya), judging was particularly challenging for the jury, as the actual poster presentation by the authors could not be considered in order to ensure […]
Parasitic plants evolved from autotrophs. Initially, certain autotrophs evolved to be facultative hemiparasitic plants which obtained only water and mineral nutrients from their hosts as supplements. Some of the facultative hemiparasitic plants later became obligate parasitic plants that had to depend on their hosts to complete their life cycles. Then gradually holoparasitic plants evolved from obligate parasites and they completely lost their photosynthesis capacity. In angiosperms, parasitic […]
Low R/FR irradiation can promote dodder haustorium formation on the host plant; however, the mechanisms underlying the process are still unknown. In this study, we compared the transcriptomic data during the formation of haustorium of Cuscuta chinensis on host plant Arabidopsis thaliana under low (R/FR = 0.1) versus high (R/FR = 0.2) R/FR irradiation at […]
At the occasion of the 16th World Congress on Parasitic Plants held 3-8 July 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya, the IPPS has awarded Honorary Fellowships to (from left to right) Julie Scholes, Dan Nickrent, Abdelgabar Babiker (posthumous), Jonathan Gressel and Barach Rubin. They received this award for their service to the society and their important contributions […]
Strigolactones (SLs) were initially discovered as germination stimulants that induce the seed germination of parasitic plants of the Orobanchaceae (Striga, Alectra, Phelipanche and Orobanche genera). Half a century after this intriguing biological discovery, it was demonstrated that SLs are actually beneficial for plants, as they induce hyphal branching in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Another 3 yr later, SLs were revealed […]
Last week from 3–8 July, 2022 the 16th World Congress on Parasitic Plants was held in Nairobi, Kenya. Over a 100 participants, mostly on site, partially online, listened to a range of scientific presentations on parasitic plants, from wild, endangered, species to damaging agricultural weeds, and from ecology to molecular biology and control. This first […]
We have posted a new manuscript on bioRXiv by Collin Hudzik et al. Key findings are: There is no host-specificity in accumulation of Cuscuta campestris microRNAs; they are induced at a certain point in haustorial development. Almost all of the C. campestris genes that encode trans-species microRNAs have a common promoter element. The sequence and context of this element […]