Host lignin composition affects haustorium induction in the parasitic plants Phtheirospermum japonicum and Striga hermonthica

What is it about?

Parasitic plants Striga are noxious agricultural pests that affect billion US dollars of crop production. Parasitic plants form an invasive organ haustorium, but the origin of the haustorium inducer has not been clarified. Here we show that the the chemical inducers for haustorium are, at least partially, derived from host lignin metabolism.

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