Three-dimensional reconstructions of the internal structures of haustoria in parasitic Orobanchaceae

Abstract

Parasitic plants infect other plants by forming haustoria, specialized multicellular organs consisting of several cell types each of which has unique morphological features and physiological roles associated with parasitism. Understanding the spatial organization of cell types is, therefore, of great importance in elucidating the functions of haustoria. Here, we report a three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of haustoria from two Orobanchaceae species, the obligate parasite Striga hermonthica infecting rice and the facultative parasite Phtheirospermum japonicum infecting Arabidopsis . Our images reveal the spatial arrangements of multiple cell types inside haustoria and their interaction with host roots. The 3-D internal structures of haustoria highlight differences between the two parasites, particularly at the xylem connection site with the host. Our study provides structural insights into how organs interact between hosts and parasitic plants. One-sentence summary Three-dimensional image reconstruction was used to visualize the spatial organization of cell types in the haustoria of parasitic plants with special reference to their interaction with host roots.

Plant phenotyping relevance

寄生植物のハウストリア内部構造を3次元画像再構成で可視化することが研究の中心であり、植物器官の空間形態を抽出・比較している。

Code and data availability

保存済みの本文根拠を更新済みルールで再検証し、公開資産1件を確認しました。