The mechanism of host-induced germination in root parasitic plants

Chemical signals known as strigolactones (SLs) were discovered more than 50 years ago as host-derived germination stimulants of parasitic plants in the Orobanchaceae. Strigolactone-responsive germination is an essential adaptation of obligate parasites in this family, which depend upon a host for survival. Several species of obligate parasites, including witchweeds (Striga, Alectra spp.) and broomrapes (Orobanche, Phelipanche spp.), are highly destructive agricultural weeds that pose a significant threat to global food security. Understanding how parasites sense SLs and other host-derived stimulants will catalyze the development of innovative chemical and biological control methods. This review synthesizes the recent discoveries of strigolactone receptors in parasitic Orobanchaceae, their signaling mechanism, and key steps in their evolution.

A family of receptors that evolved in the Orobanchaceae family enable seeds of parasitic plants to sense strigolactones from a nearby host root and germinate.

Advances

• Strigolactone perception by parasite seed is mediated by a clade of neofunctionalized KAI2d proteins that evolved from a receptor that mediates karrikin responses in other plants.
• KAI2d proteins use a similar mechanism to perceive SLs as D14, which mediates growth responses to SLs in nonparasites, but activate different signaling pathways.
• Crystal structure analyses and chemical probes reveal features of KAI2d ligand-binding pockets that contribute to their specificity.