Found in Translation: Applying Lessons from Model Systems to Strigolactone Signaling in Parasitic Plants

Publication date: Available online 9 May 2017
Source:Trends in Biochemical Sciences
Author(s): Shelley Lumba, Asrinus Subha, Peter McCourt
Strigolactones (SLs) are small molecules that act as endogenous hormones to regulate plant development as well as exogenous cues that help parasitic plants to infect their hosts. Given that parasitic plants are experimentally challenging systems, researchers are using two approaches to understand how they respond to host-derived SLs. The first involves extrapolating information on SLs from model genetic systems to dissect their roles in parasitic plants. The second uses chemicals to probe SL signaling directly in the parasite Striga hermonthica. These approaches indicate that parasitic plants have co-opted a family of α/β hydrolases to perceive SLs. The importance of this genetic and chemical information cannot be overstated since parasitic plant infestations are major obstacles to food security in the developing world.



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