[Selectivity and influence of parasite plants on their hosts].
More and more studies have demonstrated that parasite plants have strong selectivity on their hosts, which is correlated with nutrients, secondary metabolites and hardship. It is beneficial to the growth and development of parasite plants under multiple hosts. Parasite plants can change the direction of photosynthate flow and influence the adjustable ability of leaf stomata on their hosts. The growth and development of these hosts are dramatically influenced. Furthermore, parasite plants are able to have strong impacts on biomass, composition diversity, and fluctuation of the community in which they occurred. An increasing number of studies showed that the interactions between parasitic plants and their hosts may compare with those between herbivores and plants. The influence of climate changing on the relationships between parasite plants and their hosts is at beginning. Recently, most of parasite plants have more economical values other than harmful weeds. Therefore, researches on the relationships between parasite plants and their hosts are of significance both in theoretical and practical aspects.
Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. hufei@mail.edu.cn
Fei
F
Hu
Chuihua
C
Kong
D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D063245:Plant Development; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D013559:Symbiosis