Parasite plants rob genes from their hosts

A research team at RIKEN, Japan’s flagship research organization, has uncovered the first ever evidence of nuclear gene transfer from host to parasite plant species. The discovery, reported in Science this week, hints at a greater role for horizontal gene transfer in plant evolution.

The transfer of genetic material between non-mating species, known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT), has attracted growing attention as a powerful mechanism for genetic evolution. While common in bacteria, however, HGT is less well understood in plants, with evidence largely confined to its role in the transfer of mitochondrial genes.

The research team set out to determine whether HGT occurs between parasite and host plant species, where implications for evolution would be particularly profound. Using large-scale gene analysis, they combed 17,000 genes of the parasite witchweed Striga hermonthica, a source of devastating damage to sorghum and rice crops in Africa, for traces of transfer from host species.

One gene, ShContig9483, exhibited high similarity to genes in sorghum and rice, yet no relation to genes from Striga hermonthica’s own family of flowering plants (eudicots). Using phylogenetic analysis, the team traced ShContig9483’s origins to sorghum genes, strongly suggesting recent horizontal transfer from host to parasite, possibly as mRNA or cDNA.

The newly-discovered gene, which encodes a 448 amino acid protein with unknown function, occurs alongside nuclear genes in the Striga hermonthica genome, thus presenting the first clear case for nuclear HGT. The findings suggest a greater role for HGT in the relationship between parasite plants and their hosts, with deep implications for our understanding of plant evolution.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Ken Shirasu
Plant Immunity Research Group
RIKEN Plant Science Center
Tel: +81-(0)45-503-9574 / Fax: +81-(0)45-503-9573
Ms. Tomoko Ikawa (PI officer)
Global Relations Office
RIKEN
Tel: +81-(0)48-462-1225 / Fax: +81-(0)48-462-4715
Email: koho@riken.jp

Media Contact

gro-pr Research asia research news

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors