AUTHOR=Yokoyama Ryusuke , Yokoyama Toshiya , Kuroha Takeshi , Park Jihwan , Aoki Koh , Nishitani Kazuhiko 

TITLE=Regulatory Modules Involved in the Degradation and Modification of Host Cell Walls During Cuscuta campestris Invasion

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.904313

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.904313

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Haustoria of parasitic plants have evolved sophisticated traits to successfully infect host plants. The degradation and modification of host cell walls enable the haustorium to effectively invade host tissues. This study focused on two <italic>APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR</italic> (<italic>ERF</italic>) genes and a set of the cell wall enzyme genes principally expressed during the haustorial invasion of <italic>Cuscuta campestris</italic> Yuncker. The orthogroups of the TF and cell wall enzyme genes have been implicated in the cell wall degradation and modification activities in the abscission of tomatoes, which are currently the phylogenetically closest non-parasitic model species of <italic>Cuscuta</italic> species. Although haustoria are generally thought to originate from root tissues, our results suggest that haustoria have further optimized invasion potential by recruiting regulatory modules from other biological processes.</p>