Parasitic plants act like genetic engineers by stealing and remodeling useful genes
How foreign genes become permanent in parasitic plants
image:
A dodder parasitizes a sesame plant, stealing nutrients and genetic material from its host.
view moreCredit: Osaka Metropolitan University
Many plant species parasitize other plants by latching on and taking the nutrition their host needs to survive.
But sometimes, plants steal more than nutrients; they take genes.
A new study shows how one such “stolen” gene was not simply preserved after entering the genome of the parasitic dodder (Cuscuta spp.). Instead, the parasite remodeled the gene over millions of years while keeping its original function intact.
The gene is taken by a process known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Unlike ordinary inheritance, in which genes pass from parent to offspring, HGT allows genetic material to move between unrelated organisms.
A research team led by Professor Koh Aoki of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University, investigated what happens to these foreign genes after they arrive in the parasitic plant. Working with researchers from Suntory Global Innovation Center Ltd., the National Institute for Basic Biology and other institutions, the team traced the evolutionary history of the CYP81Q gene.
They found evidence that CYP81Q originally belonged to another flowering plant in the order Lamiales—which includes many medical and culinary herbs—before being transferred to the dodder lineage in the distant past.
The gene gave dodders something useful, as CYP81Q is involved in producing sesamin, a lignan compound with antioxidant properties. After acquiring the gene, dodders gained the ability to produce sesamin themselves.
Over time, the foreign gene was changed in the dodder genome by pieces of transposable elements called “jumping DNA,” which inserted dodder DNA into CYP81Q.
One of these inserted sequences eventually became part of a newly formed intron, a section of a gene that is removed from its RNA before the genetic instructions are used to make a protein.
Despite undergoing these changes, the gene continued to work. The remodeled CYP81Q still produced a functional enzyme capable of synthesizing sesamin.
“This demonstrated that the gene had retained its biological function despite substantial structural changes,” Professor Aoki summarized.
The finding suggests that HGT is not necessarily the end of the evolutionary story of the gene, instead it can continue to evolve inside the parasite, becoming structurally integrated into its new surroundings while retaining its original function.
“Usually HGT is a process of bacteria,” Professor Aoki said. “Our findings are further evidence that it is found in plants too.”
For parasitic plants, this process may be especially important. Their direct connections with other plants create unusual opportunities for genes to cross species boundaries. Once transferred, those genes may become raw material for further evolutionary change.
The story of CYP81Q goes beyond dodders simply “stealing” a useful gene to the plant making the borrowed genetic material its own.
The findings were published in Plant Physiology.
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About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through the “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Journal
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Transposon-colonized intron gain follows parasitism-mediated horizontal transfer of a cytochrome P450 gene
How plants use scoop-shaped pores to distribute their pollen efficiently
New findings are particularly important in light of climate change, declines in bee abundance, and diversity
image:
Fig. 1: Bee buzzing poricidal stamens of Pleroma (Melastomataceae), pollen grains are visible as white dust on the pink petals below the bee.
view moreCredit: César Arvelos
Approximately 30,000 species of flowering plants have "poricidal anthers" from which pollen can only be released when bees apply mechanical vibrations to them. In a new study recently published in Nature Communications, a research team at the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research at the University of Vienna found that the shape of the plant's anther pore determines how pollen is released. The scientists discovered that anthers bearing scoops around their pores expel their pollen in narrower, more targeted jets than anthers lacking such scoops, which normally scatter pollen in broad clouds. Furthermore, scoop-bearing anthers release pollen at faster speeds. The team further learned that scoop-shaped pores are sensitive in their functionality to the exact nature of the vibration applied. Findings such as these are particularly important in light of more frequent temperature extremes altering flower vibrational properties, and declines in bee abundance and diversity.
Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants and approximately 10% of flowering plants are functionally specialized on "buzz-pollination". Buzz-pollination is a mechanism where pollen can only be extracted from flowers through the application of mechanical vibrations. Many important crops such as tomatoes, eggplants or blueberries are buzz-pollinated because they conceal their pollen in so-called poricidal anthers – floral structures which only have a minute pore as opening, and pollen can only be released from this pore when mechanical vibrations are applied.
In a new study recently published in Nature Communications, a research team at the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research at the University of Vienna found that how the pore is shaped determines how pollen is released. Specifically, comparing more than 500 plant species, the researchers found that pores either carry a spathulate structure termed a "scoop", or lack such a scoop. Tomatoes lack such scoops, but anthers of the large tropical plant family Melastomataceae, for example, commonly bear scoops.
Plants bearing scoops at their anthers expel their pollen in narrower, more targeted jets
PhD candidate Benjamin Lazarus from the University of Vienna went ahead to test experimentally whether the "scoop" has a specific function – and found that it does. Lazarus applied mechanical vibrations to single anthers mimicking the vibrations of bees by placing stamens into a specifically constructed artificial vibration setup. He then used high-speed videos to film the pollen clouds expelled from the different anthers and analysed the scattering angle of pollen clouds as well as the velocity with which pollen clouds moved in the air. Lazarus found that anthers bearing scoops expel their pollen in narrower, more targeted jets than anthers lacking such scoop, which normally scatter pollen in broad clouds. Furthermore, scoop-bearing anthers release pollen at faster speeds.
"Our new findings have important implications for the functionality of buzz-pollination", says study lead Agnes Dellinger from the University of Vienna. Releasing pollen in narrow jets may allow plants to target specific areas on the bee's body and place pollen in a more controlled manner. "Accuracy in pollen placement is important for plants because it can improve pollination success and at the same time enables plants to place pollen in 'safe spots' where bees can't groom and collect it off their bodies. At the same time, faster pollen release may allow plants to eject pollen across larger distances and implant it more deeply in the fur of bees, thereby again reducing pollen loss", explains Dellinger.
The functionality of the scoop-shaped pore is dependent on vibration frequency
The team further found that scoop-shaped pores are sensitive in their functionality to the exact nature of the vibration applied – while targeted pollen release showed a cyclical pattern perfectly in line with vibrations at 300 Hz and 400 Hz, pollen release became "messy" and chaotic at low frequency vibrations of around 200 Hz. Finding that the functionality of the scoop-shaped pore is dependent on vibration frequency is important because different bee species vibrate flowers at different frequencies, meaning that some bees may remove higher amounts of pollen from flowers than others.
Furthermore, recent studies from other research teams indicate that vibration frequency may be temperature-dependent, with bees vibrating flowers at higher frequencies when temperatures are high. Finding that how pollen is released from buzz-pollinated flowers is sensitive to vibrational properties is particularly important in light of more frequent temperature extremes and declines in bee abundance and diversity.
Summary:
- A research team from the University of Vienna found that the shape of a plant's anther pore determines how pollen is released.
- The team looked into the mechanism of so called "buzz-pollination". Many important crops such as tomatoes, eggplants or blueberries are buzz-pollinated.
- Plants bearing scoops around their anther pores expel their pollen in narrower, more targeted jets.
- While targeted pollen release showed a cyclical pattern perfectly in line with vibrations at 300 Hz and 400 Hz, pollen release became "messy" and chaotic at low frequency vibrations of around 200 Hz also in scoop-bearing species.
- These new findings are particularly important in light of more frequent temperature extremes potentially altering flower biomechanical properties and declines in bee abundance.
About the University of Vienna:
For over 650 years the University of Vienna has stood for education, research and innovation. Today, it is ranked among the top 100 and thus the top four per cent of all universities worldwide and is globally connected. With degree programmes covering 188 disciplines, and approximately 11,000 employees, we are one of the largest academic institutions in Europe. Here, people from a broad spectrum of disciplines come together to carry out research at the highest level and develop solutions for current and future challenges. Its students and graduates develop reflected and sustainable solutions to complex challenges using innovative spirit and curiosity.
Journal
Nature Communications
Article Title
Scoop-shaped pores change how pollen is released from poricidal flowers
Article Publication Date
20-Aug-2026
Fig. 2: Flower of Pleroma (Melastomataceae) with the scoop-bearing poricidal stamens in the center, visible as elongated white-purple structures. Scoop-bearing stamens are common in Melastomataceae, the largest group of plants specialized on buzz-pollination.
Credit
César Arvelos
Fig. 3: Experimental setup for the application of artificially synthesized bee vibrations to single stamens to test the functionality of the scoop-shaped pore. The handheld particle counter allows for immediately counting the released pollen grains.
Credit
Benjamin Lazarus
Fig. 4: PhD students Benjamin Lazarus (ri) and Johan Urrea (le) bagging flowers of Melastomataceae in the field for later pollination experiments.
Credit
Cristina Vargas
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