title: Transcriptomics exposes the uniqueness of parasitic plants.
abstract: Parasitic plants have the ability to obtain nutrients directly from other plants, and several species are serious biological threats to agriculture by parasitizing crops of high economic importance. The uniqueness of parasitic plants is characterized by the presence of a multicellular organ called a haustorium, which facilitates plant-plant interactions, and shutting down or reducing their own photosynthesis. Current technical advances in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics have allowed us to dissect the molecular mechanisms behind the uniqueness of parasitic plants at the genome-wide level. In this review, we summarize recent key findings mainly in transcriptomics that will give us insights into the future direction of parasitic plant research.
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ichihashi
authors.forename: J Musembi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mutuku
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirasu
mesh_terms: D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: haustorium; parasitic plants; photosynthesis; plant–plant interaction; transcriptomics