The parasitic vines of the genus Cuscuta form haustoria that grow into other plants and connect with their vascular system, thus allowing the parasite to feed on its host. A major obstacle that meets the infection organ as it penetrates the host tissue is the rigid plant cell wall. In the present study, we examined the activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases (XTHs) during the ...

In plant cells, the distribution of genes on three spatially separated subgenomes calls for the necessity of maintaining a coordinated regulation of gene expression between these DNA-containing compartments. Especially, the translocation of nuclear-encoded gene products to plastids and mitochondria, which is crucial for the development and metabolic operation of these semi-autonomous organelles, ...

Changes in cell walls have been previously observed in the mature infection organ, or haustorium, of the parasitic angiosperm Cuscuta, but are not equally well charted in young haustoria. In this study, we focused on the molecular processes in the early stages of developing haustoria; that is, before the parasite engages in a physiological contact with its host. We describe first the identification ...

The highly adapted parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta infect other plants to steal their water and nutrients. They do so by developing specialized organs called haustoria that grow into the tissue of the host plant establishing interspecies connections through which the parasite feeds. Although it has long since been suggested that some manner of modification to host cell walls is necessary to ...

Cellulolytic activity can be measured using a variety of methods, the choice of which depends on the raw material and goals. An inexpensive, rapid, and reliable method, suitable for plants and other sources alike, is based on digestion of the easily degradable soluble cellulose derivative carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Direct detection of CMC digestion by cellulolytic activity is based on the “negative ...