REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Molecular translocation between parasitic plants and their hosts
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, China
- 2China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing, China
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Abstract: Parasitic plants are a special group deriving their nutrients from another plant, some of 7 which such as witchweeds (Striga spp.) and broomrapes (Orobanche and Phelipanche spp.) are 8 referred as weeds responsible for severe crop losses in agriculture. The parasite attaches to and 9 feeds off its host using a haustorium, which also facilitates the transport of various molecules 10 between the parasite and its host. These translocation molecules have received extensive attention 11 from researchers. In this review, we summarize the existing knowledge on the transfer of 12 molecules such as pathogens, herbicides, RNAs, and proteins between parasitic plants and their 13 hosts, and discuss their potential implications. Additionally, we provide an overview of horizontal 14 gene transfer (HGT) between species, which is particularly evident in the mitochondrial and 15 nuclear genomes, with some transgenes assumed to have functional roles in their recipient species, 16 offering new insights into the evolution of parasitic plants. Finally, we discuss the significance of 17 parasitic plant research and the development of future research technologies to advance our 18 understanding of plant parasitism.
Keywords: parasitic plants, horizontal gene transfer, molecular translocation, haustorium, Cuscuta
Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wu, Cai, Guo, Gan, Liu and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yu Chao Chen
Jian Guo Yang
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