Striga hermonthica, an obligate root parasitic weed affecting cereal crops, poses a significant threat to global food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Germination of Striga seed largely relies on signaling molecules released by the host roots, mainly strigolactones (SLs). Suicidal germination is an effective strategy for reducing Striga seed banks in infested soils by applying […]
In the temperate rainforests of southern Chile, scientists have uncovered a fascinating relationship between mistletoes and lianas (woody vines). A recent study published in Ecology reveals that these parasitic plants thrive on lianas, possibly as a survival strategy against drought and a clever way to spread their seeds. Mistletoes, which depend on host plants for […]
I am proud to present our new paper on the involvement of strigolactones in sorghum tolerance against Striga, which appeared in Weed Research today. This paper is dedicated to our friend and mentor Prof. Abdul Gabbar Babiker who passed away in 2022. The root parasitic weed Striga hermonthica is a major constraint to cereal production […]
Mistletoes: keystone species that shape ecosystems and excel at water transpiration and stomatal conductance! The April IPPS mistletoe seminar featured two insightful talks from Francisco Forturbel and Xian-Yan Huang, who kindly stepped in for Yun-Bing Zhang. Check out their recent papers to follow up on their talks: Olivares GS, et al. 2025. and Zhang YB […]
Weeds are a major challenge in arable farming, vegetable, and fruit production. With increasing restrictions on herbicide use, effective weed management is becoming more difficult. The transition to more sustainable farming and climate change may also introduce new weed problems. An example of such new problems concerns parasitic weeds. It entails plant species that depend […]
The IPPS is shifting its main social media presence to Bluesky and LinkedIn. Follow us there to stay updated on the latest parasitic plants and IPPS news. See you on Bluesky and LinkedIn! […]
First talk: Dr. Francisco Fontúrbel from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile will talk about: “Mistletoe-driven facilitation at the limit of life in Patagonia” Second talk: Dr. Yun-Bing Zhang, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will talk about “Survival secrets of mistletoes: high drought tolerance in aerial habitats” Date: Wednesday, April […]
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 […]
For our IPPS March Online Seminar, we had again two wonderful talks and a strong turnout from our IPPS community. Dr. Begoña Pérez Vich presented her research on the sunflower-Orobanche cumana interaction. If you’re interested in the mapping of Avirulence genes, please check out her recent publication in BMC Plant Biology (Calderón-González Á et al., […]
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. […]