Abstract
Infection of crop species by parasitic plants is a major agricultural hindrance resulting in substantial crop losses worldwide. Parasitic plants establish vascular connections with the host plant via structures termed haustoria, which allow acquisition of water and nutrients, often to the detriment of the infected host. Despite the agricultural impact of parasitic plants, the molecular and developmental processes by which host/parasitic interactions are established are not well understood. Here, we examine the development and subsequent establishment of haustorial connections by the parasite dodder (Cuscuta pentagona) on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. Formation of haustoria in dodder is accompanied by upregulation of dodder KNOTTED-like homeobox transcription factors, including SHOOT MERISTEMLESS-like (STM). We demonstrate interspecific silencing of a STM gene in dodder driven by a vascular-specific promoter in transgenic host plants and find that this silencing disrupts dodder growth. The reduced efficacy of dodder infection on STM RNA interference transgenics results from defects in haustorial connection, development, and establishment. Identification of transgene-specific small RNAs in the parasite, coupled with reduced parasite fecundity and increased growth of the infected host, demonstrates the efficacy of interspecific small RNA-mediated silencing of parasite genes. This technology has the potential to be an effective method of biological control of plant parasite infection.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Dodder haustorium formation accompanied upregulation of KNOTTED-like factors including STM.
- Taxon
- doddere0
- Organ / stage
- haustoriae0
- Interactor
- tobacco
Nicotiana tabacume1host - Gene
- SHOOT MERISTEMLESS-like (STM)e0
- Outcome
- upregulation of dodder KNOTTED-like homeobox transcription factorse0
- Direction
- upregulatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Formation of haustoria in dodder is accompanied by upregulation of dodder KNOTTED-like homeobox transcription factors, including SHOOT MERISTEMLESS-like (STM).”
t0“Cuscuta pentagona Plant Parasitism”
e1“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Host-driven STM silencing disrupted dodder growth.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- interspecific silencing of a STM genee0
- Interactor
- doddere0parasite
- Gene
- STMe0
- Outcome
- dodder growthe0
- Direction
- disruptse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We demonstrate interspecific silencing of a STM gene in dodder driven by a vascular-specific promoter in transgenic host plants and find that this silencing disrupts dodder growth.”
t0“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
Claim · model-written summary
STM RNA interference reduced dodder infection through haustorial defects.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- STM RNA interference transgenicse0
- Interactor
- doddere0parasite
- Gene
- STMe0
- Outcome
- reduced efficacy of dodder infectione0
- Qualifier
- defects in haustorial connection, development, and establishmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The reduced efficacy of dodder infection on STM RNA interference transgenics results from defects in haustorial connection, development, and establishment.”
t0“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Transgene-specific small RNAs were identified in the parasite.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Interactor
- parasitee0parasite
- Outcome
- transgene-specific small RNAs in the parasitee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Identification of transgene-specific small RNAs in the parasite, coupled with reduced parasite fecundity and increased growth of the infected host, demonstrates the efficacy of interspecific small RNA-mediated silencing of parasite genes.”
t0“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Parasite fecundity was reduced.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Interactor
- parasitee0parasite
- Outcome
- parasite fecunditye0
- Direction
- reducede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“reduced parasite fecundity and increased growth of the infected host”
t0“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Infected host growth increased.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Interactor
- parasitee0parasite
- Outcome
- growth of the infected hoste0
- Direction
- increasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“reduced parasite fecundity and increased growth of the infected host”
t0“tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants”
The same questions in other papers
loss of function · growth · Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco)Positive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 34 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
- negative
35 papers more in this group
See all 39 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.