Between-Plant Signaling.

Parasitic plants use a special organ, the haustorium, to attach to and penetrate host tissues, forming phloem and/or xylem fusion with the host vascular systems. Across this haustorium-host interface, not only water and nutrients are extracted from the host by the parasitic plant, but also secondary metabolites, messenger RNAs, noncoding RNAs, proteins, and systemic signals are transported between the parasite and host and even among different hosts connected by a parasite. Furthermore, mycorrhizal fungi can form common mycelial networks (CMNs) that simultaneously interconnect multiple plants.

One-Step Reverse-Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) Assay for the Detection of Canna Yellow Streak Virus.

Canna yellow streak virus (CaYSV) is a potyvirus that causes severe damage to the ornamental plant canna in the United Kingdom and Brazil. Here, we identified CaYSV in China by isolating total RNA from an infected plant, amplifying the virus genome segments, and cloning and sequencing the amplicons. After assembly, the full-length genome of the virus was obtained and uploaded to the NCBI database.

Comparative genomics of orobanchaceous species with different parasitic lifestyles reveals the origin and stepwise evolution of plant parasitism.

Orobanchaceae is the largest family of parasitic plants, containing autotrophic and parasitic plants with all degrees of parasitism. This makes it by far the best family for studying the origin and evolution of plant parasitism. Here we provide three high-quality genomes of orobanchaceous plants, the autotrophic Lindenbergia luchunensis and the holoparasitic plants Phelipanche aegyptiaca and Orobanche cumana.

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors.

A chromosome-scale Gastrodia elata genome and large-scale comparative genomic analysis indicate convergent evolution by gene loss in mycoheterotrophic and parasitic plants.

Mycoheterotrophic and parasitic plants are heterotrophic and parasitize on fungi and plants, respectively, to obtain nutrients. Large-scale comparative genomics analysis has not been conducted in mycoheterotrophic or parasitic plants or between these two groups of parasites. We assembled a chromosome-level genome of the fully mycoheterotrophic plant Gastrodia elata (Orchidaceae) and performed comparative genomic analyses on the genomes of G.

Herbivory-induced systemic signals are likely to be evolutionarily conserved in euphyllophytes.

Herbivory-induced systemic signaling has been demonstrated in monocots and dicots, and is essential for plant defense against insects. However, the nature and evolution of herbivory-induced systemic signals remain unclear. Grafting is widely used for studying systemic signaling; however, grafting between dicot plants from different families is difficult, and grafting is impossible for monocots.

MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4 function additively in wounding-induced jasmonic acid biosynthesis and catabolism.

Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a critical role in plant defenses against insects and necrotrophic fungi. Wounding or lepidopteran insect feeding rapidly induces a burst of JA in plants, which usually reaches peak values within 1 to 2 h. The induced JA is converted to JA-Ile and perceived by the COI1-JAZ co-receptor, leading to activation of the transcription factors MYC2 and its homologs, which further induce JA-responsive genes.

Comparative analysis of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) leaf transcriptomes reveals genotype-specific salt tolerance mechanisms.

Background: Soil salinity is an important factor affecting growth, development, and productivity of almost all land plants, including the forage crop alfalfa (Medicago sativa). However, little is known about how alfalfa responds and adapts to salt stress, particularly among different salt-tolerant cultivars.

Results: Among seven alfalfa cultivars, we found that Zhongmu-1 (ZM) is relatively salt-tolerant and Xingjiang Daye (XJ) is salt-sensitive.

Stem parasitic plant (dodder) transfers herbivory-induced signals among plants.

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Salt-tolerant and -sensitive alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars have large variations in defense responses to the lepidopteran insect Spodoptera litura under normal and salt stress condition.

In nature, plants are often exposed to multiple stress factors at the same time. Yet, little is known about how plants modulate their physiology to counteract simultaneous abiotic and biotic stresses, such as soil salinity and insect herbivory. In this study, insect performance bioassays, phytohormone measurements, quantification of transcripts, and protein determination were employed to study the phenotypic variations of two alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars in response to insect Spodoptera litura feeding under normal and salt stress condition.

Cloning and characterization of chromosomal markers in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Eleven tandemly repetitive sequences were identified from a Cot-1 library by FISH and sequence analysis of alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Five repetitive sequences (MsCR-1, MsCR-2, MsCR-3, MsCR-4, and MsCR-5) were centromeric or pericentromeric, of which three were satellite DNAs and two were minisatellite DNAs. Monomers of 144, 148, and 168 bp were identified in MsCR-1, MsCR-2, and MsCR-3, respectively, while 15 and 39 bp monomers were identified in MsCR-4 and MsCR-5, respectively.

Characterization of alien chromosomes in backcross derivatives of Triticum aestivum × Elymus rectisetus hybrids by using molecular markers and sequential multicolor FISH/GISH.

Wild Triticeae grasses serve as important gene pools for forage and cereal crops. Based on DNA sequences of genome-specific RAPD markers, sequence-tagged site (STS) markers specific for W and Y genomes have been obtained. Coupling with the use of genomic in situ hybridization, these STS markers enabled the identification of the W- and Y-genome chromosomes in backcross derivatives from hybrids of bread wheat Triticum aestivum L.