| Abstract Detail
Economic Botany: Applied Plant Biology Lewis, Kristin [1], Alers-García, Janice [1], Wright, Leslie [2]. Plant-derived polyphenolics inhibit parasitic plant germination and attachment. We have previously shown that polyphenolics found in a common plant extract can be used to inhibit pectin methylesterase activity both in commercial extracts of the enzyme and in extracts of parasitic plants such as Cuscuta pentagona and Castilleja indivisa. Parasitic plants utilize cell wall degrading enzymes such as pectin methylesterase to invade host tissue and create functional attachments to the vasculature of their host; therefore, inhibiting these enzymes may confer resistance. We have utilized an exogenously applied solution of the aforementioned plant polyphenolics to inhibit germination and parasitism in the facultative hemiparasite Castilleja indivisa grown with Lupinus texensis, a naturally occuring host. We suggest that successful parasite inhibition through application of cell-wall-degrading-enzyme inhibitors as soil amendments may lead to novel forms of parasitic plant control.
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1 - Harvard University, Rowland Institute at Harvard, 100 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
2 - Harvard University, Rowland Institute at Harvard, 100 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA, 02142, MA
Keywords:
parasitic plants
cell wall degrading enzymes
Castilleja indivisa
Lupinus texensis
polyphenolics.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 59
Location: 157/Law
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Time: 10:30 AM
Number: 59002
Abstract ID:156 |
