A parasitic plant that sucks water and nutrients from its plant host also taps into its communications traffic, a new report finds. The research could lead to new ways to combat parasites that attack crop plants.Plants often use small RNA molecules as messengers between different parts of the plant. In a paper published in Science in 2001, Sinha's group showed that RNA could travel from a graft into the rest of the plant and affect leaf shape. Plants can also use specific RNAs to fight off viruses.
Picking up these RNA messengers could help the parasite synchronize its lifecycle with that of the host plant, Sinha said.
"It might be important for the parasite to know when the host is flowering, so it can flower at the same time," before the host dies, she said.
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