Inter-plant communication via parasitic bridging

Abstract

The fact that molecular signals pass between parasitic plants and their hosts is well known. Because the parasitic vines of the genus Cuscuta (dodders) can establish vascular connections with more than one host at a time, they form bridges that can be used, according to past research, to transmit molecules from one host plant to another. Li et al. (2020) explore this idea further by showing that dodder bridges may be used effectively by linked hosts to exchange physiologically significant systemic signals to the benefit of the parasitized plant cluster.