Plants Communicate at a Molecular Level Biologists Identify a Protein Which Recognizes Cuscuta as a Parasite
Published:23 Oct.2020 Source:University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Working together with researchers from the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, biologists from FAU have discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite. The plant has a protein in its cell walls that is identified as 'foreign' by a receptor in the tomato.
Cuscuta spp., also known as dodder, is a parasitic vine which grafts to the host plant using special suckers to obtain water, minerals and carbohydrates. The parasite also attacks and damages crops such as oilseed rape, sweetcorn, soy, flax or clover. Although the infection generally goes undetected by the host, some species of tomato actively defend themselves by forming wooden tissue which prevents the suckers from penetrating the plant. In earlier research, the biologists at FAU discovered that these tomatoes possess a special receptor, the Cuscuta receptor 1 (CuRe1), which triggers the defence mechanism. However, until now it was unclear how the receptor recognises the danger posed by the dodder.