Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Interspecific RNA interference of SHOOT MERISTEMLESS-like disrupts Cuscuta pentagona plant parasitism
Plant Cell, Volume 24, No. 7, Year 2012
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
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. © 2012 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.
Available Materials
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3426138/bin/supp_24_7_3153__index.html
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3426138/bin/supp_tpc.112.099994_tpc09994Supplemental.pdf
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3426138/bin/supp_tpc.112.099994_tpc099994SD.txt
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3426138/bin/supp_24_7_3153_v2_index.html
Authors & Co-Authors
Alakonya, Amos Emitati
Kenya, Nairobi
Kenyatta University
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Kumar, Ravi
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Koenig, Daniel
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Kimura, Seisuke
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Japan, Kyoto
Kyoto Sangyo University
Townsley, Brad
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Runo, Steven Maina
Kenya, Nairobi
Kenyatta University
Garces, Helena M.
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
United Kingdom, Manchester
The University of Manchester
Kang, Julie
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
United States, Cedar Falls
University of Northern Iowa
Yanez, Andrea
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
David-Schwartz, Rakefet
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Israel, Bet Dagan
Agricultural Research Organization of Israel
MacHuka, Jesse S.
Kenya, Nairobi
Kenyatta University
Sinha, Neelima
United States, Davis
University of California, Davis
Statistics
Citations: 129
Authors: 12
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1105/tpc.112.099994
ISSN:
10404651
e-ISSN:
1532298X
Research Areas
Environmental
Genetics And Genomics
Substance Abuse