Parasitic plants rely on unusual method to spread their seeds

November 14, 2017

Three species of non-photosynthetic plants rely mainly on camel crickets to disperse their seeds, according to new research from Project Associate Professor Suetsugu Kenji (Kobe University Graduate School of Science). These findings were published on November 9 in the online edition of New Phytologist.

Most non-photosynthetic plants have very small seeds that can be dispersed by the wind like dust particles. However, some achlorophyllous plants grow in the dark understory of forests, and have abandoned the dependence on the wind for seed dispersal. In this study, Professor Suetsugu investigated the seed dispersal method for three such plants: Yoania amagiensis, Monotropastrum humile and Phacellanthus tubiflorus. He identified the camel cricket as their main seed disperser, the first evidence of camel crickets being used for seed dispersal in the flowering plants.

The most famous example of insect carriers is ants, but the ants do not eat the seeds: they carry them to their nests in their mandibles. Insects who carry seeds by eating them are very rare. One example is the New Zealand weta, but this is a special case: normally this role would be taken by mammals, but in New Zealand the only native mammals are bats.

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Parasitic Plants Steal Genes from Their Hosts

ScienceDaily (June 8, 2012) — New research published June 8 in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genomics reveals that the Malaysian parasitic plant Rafflesia cantleyi, with its 50cm diameter flowers, has 'stolen' genes from its host Tetrastigma rafflesiae. Analysis of these genes shows that their functions range from respiration to metabolism, and that some of them have even replaced the parasites own gene activity.

Vertical gene transfer is that between parents and their offspring, while horizontal gene transfer is the movement of genes between two different organisms. Bacteria use horizontal gene transfer to exchange resistance to antibiotics. Recent studies have shown that plants can also use horizontal gene transfer, especially parasitic plants and their hosts due to their intimate physical connections.

Rafflesia cantleyi is an obligate holoparasite (dependent on its host, and only that host, for sustenance), which grows on Tetrastigma rafflesiae, a member of the grape family. Researchers from Singapore, Malaysia and USA collaborated to systematically investigate the possibility of horizontal gene transfer between these two plants. By looking at the transcriptome (the transcribed products of switched on genes) they found 49 genes transcribed by the parasite, accounting for 2% of their total transcriptome, which originally belonged to the host. Three quarters of these transcripts appear to have replaced the parasites own version.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120608100846.htm