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The wondrous Cynomorium

July 2015

July 2015
67:11

Authors:

Università degli studi di Cagliari

Among the several thousand parasitic plants that thrive in a wide range of ecosystems, a few hold a special position, either for their scientific interest, economic importance, or historical relevance. Cynomorium belongs to the latter, exclusive guild.

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HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

HAUSTORIUM

Parasitic Plants Newsletter

ISSN 1944-6969

Official Organ of the International Parasitic Plant Society

(http://www.parasiticplants.org/)

July 2015 Number 67

CONTENTS Page

Message from the IPPS President (Koichi Yoneyama)…………………………………………………….. 2

MEETING REPORTS

World Congress on Parasitic Plants, Kunming, China, 5-10 July, 2015…………………………. 2

Post-Congress tour……………………………………………………………………………………. 8

International Congress on Strigolactones, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1-6 March, 2105 …… 9

Anniversary of the Weed Science Society of Israel ………………………………………………… 10

NEWS/NOTES

The wondrous Cynomorium (Andrea C. Rinaldi and Antonio Rescigno) …………………………… 11

PRESS REPORTS

Mistletoebird: Australia's native flowerpecker ……………………………………………………….. 13

Hunt to kill Red Witchweed drags past the 18 month mark………………………………………….. 14

OBITUARIES

Dale Hess 1954-2015 (Bettina Haussmann).……………………………………………………………. 14

Yeeshayahu (‘Shieke’) Kleifeld 1934-2015 (Yakkov Goldwasser)……………………………………. 15

NEW JOURNAL

‘Advances in Parasitic Weed Research’………………………………………………………………… 15

FUTURE MEETINGS:

Second International Legume Society Conference, 11th to 14th October, 2016…………………….. 15

GENERAL WEBSITES………..…………………………………………………………………………….. 15

THERAPEUTIC USES OF PARASITIC PLANTS: ARE YOU INTERESTED? ……………………… 16

LITERATURE………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16

IPPS Membership………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41

End Note………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Dear IPPS members,

I am very pleased to announce that we had an excellent

meeting at the 13

World Congress on Parasitic Plants, held

from July 5 to 10 in Kunming, China. More than 100

participants from around the world really enjoyed the

science, social activities, beautiful food and drink, in typical

Chinese surroundings. I would like to extend grateful thanks

to Ai-Rong Li, Yongping Yang, and their team for their

perfect preparation, arrangements, and warm hospitality. I

also thank John Yoder for his excellent job in arranging the

scientific program and all session organizers for their efforts

in preparation and management of sessions. All of the

keynote lectures were very informative and helped us to

catch up with recent advances in various research areas

related to parasitic plants. In addition, oral and poster

presentations were all of good quality and, in particular,

those selected for student/young scientist awards were

excellent.

Finally, I would like to thank all attendees for their active

participation and discussions. Details of the meeting will be

found in this issue. The book of abstracts and a group photo

can be found on the IPPS website

(http://www.parasiticplants.org ).

The IPPS executive committee members had nominated

Diego Rubiales unanimously for an IPPS Honorary Fellow

award, and Diego received this award at the conference

dinner. We all acknowledge his great contributions to both

parasitic plant science, in particular the breeding of resistant

cultivars, and to IPPS. Diego was the Editor of IPPS from

2005–2010 and program chair at the 10

World Congress

on Parasitic Plants (Kusadasi, Turkey).

Also at the conference dinner, we expressed our special

thanks and appreciation to the two founding Editors of

Haustorium and honorary members of the IPPS, Chris

Parker and Lytton Musselman, for their extensive and

intensive long-lasting contribution in gathering all available

literature on various aspects of parasitic plants, reviewing,

compiling, and distributing updated knowledge to all of us.

Although they are still very active, we would like to

organize a small group of IPPS members for supporting

editorial works of Haustorium.

In a final session prizes were awarded for the best student

oral presentations, to (1

) Zhen-Zhen Yang (student, Penn

State Univ.) (2

) Satoko Yoshida (postdoc, RIKEN) and

) Song-Kui Cui (student, RIKEN) and for the best

student posters, to (1

) Yasunori Ichihashi (postdoc,

RIKEN) and (2

) Chun Su (student, Univ. Verginia)

It is time to start thinking about our next congress, the 14

World Congress on Parasitic Plants. If you would like to

invite our next congress to your country, please send me an

e-mail notice. In addition, I welcome any suggestions and

comments for possible congress venues as we would like to

select a place that is most convenient to as many IPPS

members as possible.

Next year, we will be holding elections to fill the offices of

Vice President, Secretary, and one Member at Large. I

encourage you to nominate, vote, and be active in your

society. Please send me nominations for these positions.

Sincerely,

Koichi Yoneyama, IPPS President

yoneyama@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp

MEETING REPORTS

WORLD CONGRESS ON PARASITIC PLANTS,

KUNMING, 5-9 JULY, 2015

Just about 100 delegates from at least 23 different countries

met in Kunming for a wonderfully well-conducted meeting

in the comfort of the Yunnan Dianchi Garden Resort Hotel.

Molecules and Biochemistry:

The keynote lecture in this section was by Harro

Bouwmeester (Wageningen University, the Netherlands),

on ‘Structural diversity in the strigolactones: biosynthesis

and biological significance’. The fact that the strigolactones

play multiple roles in the rhizosphere as well as in the host

plant itself seems to have resulted in the evolution of an

enormous structural diversity the biological significance of

which we are only just beginning to understand. The current

knowledge on the biosynthesis and structural diversification

of strigolactones and their perception in host and parasite

and the strategy to further elucidate their biological

significance was discussed. This was followed by Koichi

Yoneyama (Utsunomiya University, Japan) discussing the

‘Structure- and stereo-specific transport of strigolactones

from roots to shoots.’ Although it is generally accepted that

strigolactones (SLs) mainly produced in roots move

acropetally to shoots and inhibit axillary bud outgrowth, it

was suggested that both endogenous and exogenous SLs

move symplastically in plants. In addition, by using

deuterium-labeled SLs, transport of root-applied SLs to

shoots was found to proceed in a highly structure- and

stereo-specific manner. Details of xylem sap analyses and

feeding experiments were explained and discussed in

relation to SL transport in plants.

Salim Al-Babili (KAUST, Saudi Arabia) talked on

‘Carlactone: biosynthesis and application’. Carlactone is an

intermediate of the strigolactone biosynthetic pathway,

which is formed from all-trans-carotene by the sequential

activity of the all-trans/9-cis-carotene isomerase DWARF27

and the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenaeses 7 and 8 (CCD7,

CCD8). To explore the potential of this pathway in

converting carotenoids other than all-trans-carotene and in

producing carlactone-like compounds that might lead to

other type(s) of strigolactones, the substrate specificities of

the involved enzymes, using in vitro assays were

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

investigated. The results demonstrate that the rice -ionone

ring containing bicyclic carotenoids, i.e. -carotene and –

cyptoxanthin mediates the isomerization reaction in the -

ionone ring containing moiety of the substrate. CCD7

enzymes show a wide substrate- and a very narrow stereo-

specificity, converting different 9-cis-configured

carotenoids, including 9-cis-carotene, 9-cis-zeaxanthin and

9-cis-lutein. These data indicate the possibility of the

formation of hydroxylated carlactones. Initial studies

showed that carlactone can induce seed germination in

Striga at considerable levels but has largely only MAX1-

dependent activity in Arabidopsis. Carlactone analogues

exerted very high activity in inducing seed germination.

However, this activity was dependent on the species. In

addition, the compound showed strigolactone-like activities

in Arabidopsis. Alessio Cimmino (Università di Napoli,

Italy) spoke on ‘Fungal and plant metabolites for the

biocontrol of some parasitic plant species’. He presented an

interesting approach for broomrape (Orobanche and

Phelipanche spp.) and dodder (Cuscuta spp.) management.

The possibility to use microbial or plant metabolites to

stimulate and/or inhibit broomrape seed germination in the

absence of the host was explored and plant and fungal

metabolites also evaluated for their inhibitory effects on

germination and growth of Cuscuta species. Isolation and

chemical characterization of some plants, plant root

exudates and fungal metabolites for these purposes was

described.

Rosemary Ahom (University of Agriculture, Makurdi,

Nigeria) described the identification of potential

allelochemicals in velvet bean (Mucuna cochinchinensis)

for the control of Striga hermonthica. Plant growth-

inhibitory compounds from the roots of M. cochinchinensis

were more active than those from leaves and seed. Six

phenolic/flavonone compounds including gallic acid, caffeic

acid, L-dopa, tyrosine, quercetin and isovetexin were

isolated and identified in velvet bean leaves, root and seed.

Kristen Clermont (Virginia Tech, USA) spoke on

‘Comparative metabolomic analysis of early parasite

development of Phelipanche aegyptiaca and Triphysaria

versicolor.’ Comparative profiling of primary metabolites

involved in carbon and nitrogen assimilation by the two

parasites provided a rationale for targeting aspartate-family

amino acid biosynthesis as a means of disrupting their

growth. This work also adds metabolomic data to current

Parasitic Plant Genome Project transcriptome datasets.

Chong Yang (Zhejiang University, China) described

physiological and biochemical responses of three sunflower

cultivars, TK0409 (confectionery type and susceptible),

S606 (oil type and intermediate) and JY207 (oil type and

resistant) differing in their sensitivity to Orobanche cumana

infection. The effect of O. cumana inoculation on

physiological and biochemical changes in these cultivars

suggested that the enhanced plant growth, low oxidative

stress, stimulated antioxidant activities, lignin and phenolic

contents were associated with improved infection tolerance

in cultivar JY207 as compared to TK0409 and S606. Higher

concentration of phenolics and lignins in resistant cultivar

JY207 was observed under O. cumana inoculation that may

play a possible role in infection prevention.

Relevant posters included the identification of germination

stimulants exuded by sunflower varieties differing in

tolerance of Orobanche cumana; altitude and location

effects on stimulant exudation by Houttuynia cordata;

chemicals selectively regulating strigolactone function;

possible effects of Striga infection on the morphology of

rice via strigolactone biosynthesis or signalling pathways;

and strigolactone profiles in sorghum in relation to AM

fungal symbiosis.

Genes and genomes:

In a keynote lecture by Jim Westwood (Virginia Tech,

USA) on ‘Genome level interactions in the parasite-host

complex’ he noted that parasites are locked in an arms race

with their hosts that drives evolution of both sides. Parasitic

plants do not merely siphon off host water and nutrients, but

rather have sophisticated mechanisms to redirect host

resources while simultaneously subverting host defences.

Recent demonstrations of parasitic plants exchanging

macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids with

their hosts suggest a novel type of interaction that greatly

expands the potential mechanisms available to the parasite

for host manipulation. This is especially true for Cuscuta,

where RNA exchange includes some transmission to the

host, raising the potential for regulation of host gene

expression. It is suggested to consider parasites and their

hosts as parts of a supra-organismal system in which the

parasite-host complex is greater than the individual genetics

of its members.

Gunjune Kim (Virginia Tech, USA) also referred to the

large scale, bidirectional movement of macromolecules

including mRNA, proteins and viruses between Cuscuta

and Arabidopsis. Transcriptome data via Illumina

sequencing from Cuscuta stems near the point of

attachment to various hosts indicate that Cuscuta interacts

with each different host in a specific manner and

understanding the dynamics of specific interactions may

advance understanding of Cuscuta parasitism. Wei-Shu

Fan (Inner Mongolia University, China) described the

sequencing of the complete mitochondrial and plastid

genome of Castilleja paramensis and investigation of

changes in the organelle genomes that may result from a

parasitic lifestyle. C. paramensis appears to be the donor for

a transfer event involving the atp9 and ccmFn genes into

another Andean plant. The results are consistent with a

reduction in photosynthetic activity but retention of full

mitochondria function in C. paramensis. Guang-Da talked

about using transcriptome data to assemble mitochondrial

and chloroplast genes of Cynomorium songaricum, a

parasitic plant occurring across China, Mongolia and

Central Asia which is used as a medicinal herb. Its hosts are

mainly Nitraria spp. The data were used to assemble

unigenes of the mitochondrial and chloroplast genes.

Ken Shirasu (Riken, Japan) gave a keynote lecture on

‘Vascular hijack by parasitic plants’. Understanding the

mechanisms underlying the hijacking process, involving the

haustorium, is an important step to develop a strategy to

fight against the weedy parasites. Next-generation

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

sequencing and bioinformatics, as well as genetic analyses

revealed the dynamic reprogramming of the parasite cells

upon infection. The molecular mechanisms behind the

uniqueness of parasitic plants was discussed. Hailey

Larose (Virginia Tech, USA) described pre- and post-

germination transcriptome analysis and presented findings

of genes expressed during the break from dormancy of O.

cumana and O. cernua. These were sequenced and

differential expression analysis performed between the

various stages. Guiling Sun (Kunming Institute of Botany)

studied the horizontal transfer of novel Class II hAT

transposons from Brassicaceae to root parasitic

Orobanchaceae. This first case of a class II transposon

laterally transferred among eudicots was characterized, and

it was suggested to be involved with direct transport of

DNAs through haustoria, followed by the insertion

catalyzed by the transposase itself. Zhen-Zhen Yang

(Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A.) spoke on

‘Comparative transcriptome analyses reveal core parasitism

genes and suggest gene duplication and repurposing as

sources of structural novelty’. The genetic basis for the

evolution of haustoria was studied by comparative

transcriptome sequencing in three species of

Orobanchaceae. Newly identified ‘parasitism genes’ were

identified, most of them derived from gene duplications in a

common ancestor of Orobanchaceae and the related non-

parasitic Mimulus guttatus. Additionally, the signature of

relaxed purifying selection and/or adaptive evolution at

specific sites was detected in many haustorial genes, and

may play an important role in parasite evolution. Xin-Hua

Zhang (South China Botanical Garden, China) talked on

transcriptome profiling during haustorium development in

Santalum album. A combination of next-generation

sequencing and cytomorphological studies was used to

identify changes in gene expression and metabolic pathways

associated with the development of the S. album

haustorium. S. album obtains some of its water and simple

nutrients by tapping into host roots. A substantial number of

the identified differentially expressed genes were involved

in cell wall metabolism and protein metabolism, as well as

mitochondrial electron transport functions. Phytohormone-

mediated regulation was also found to play an important

role during haustorium development.

Host parasite interactions:

Julie Scholes (University of Sheffield, UK) delivered a key

note lecture focused on ‘Deciphering the molecular

mechanisms of resistance to parasitic plants’. Studies have

been focused on the identification of mechanisms and genes

underlying resistance (and susceptibility) in cereal hosts to

different ecotypes and species of Striga with the aim of

designing novel control strategies and/or breeding durable

defence against these parasites. Mapping populations has

helped identify a highly significant Quantitative Trait Locus

(QTL) underlying the resistance phenotype that contains

many orthologs of disease resistance genes, while use of a

range of comparative genomic and molecular approaches

helps to identify which of the candidate gene(s) is/are

responsible for the resistance phenotype.

Suo Qiu (University of Sheffield, UK) talked on

‘Understanding the genomic basis of virulence in the

parasitic weed Striga hermonthica’. A population genomic

approach were taken to locate virulence loci within the S.

hermonthica genome that allow parasites to overcome host

resistance genes. Differences in allele frequencies between

the Striga plants growing on two contrasting rice cultivars

were compared at Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)

level and at the gene level. SNP analyses revealed that

many genes were highly significantly differentiated

between the Striga individuals growing on the susceptible

and resistant cultivars and are therefore excellent candidates

for virulence determinants. Xiao-Yan Jia (Virginia Tech,

USA) studied pectin methylesterases (PME) which are

secreted by parasitic plant intrusive cells during invasion

and were hypothesized to facilitate penetration. From

transcriptomic data analyses of Parasitic Plant Genome

Project (PPGP), two orthogroups of pectin methylesterase

inhibitor (PMEI) unigenes were identified showing specific

upregulation in the penetration stage of all three parasities

Phelipanche aegyptiaca, Triphysaria versicolor and Striga

hermonthica. Preliminary data showed that PaPMEI1

ectopic expression in Arabidopsis plants exhibited an aerial

rosette phenotype when grown under short day condition.

PaPMEI1-OX lines retained ability to host P. aegyptiaca

growth and no significant morphological difference was

observed in parasite development compared to those

inoculated on wild type plants. Loren Honaas

(Pennsylvania State University, USA) discussed ‘Risk

versus reward’ in Triphysaria versicolor, a facultative

parasite and a model plant for parasitic Orobanchaceae. In a

study of host-dependent growth patterns host-dependent

phenotypes displayed by the parasite provided insight into

reproductive strategies and host choice mechanisms in this

species. Muvari Connie (University of Massachusetts,

USA) described a greenhouse study showing that cultivars

of cranberry varied in overall levels of some phenolics but

not in phytohormone levels but also that Tjiurutue gypsy

moth damage delays parasite attachment, indicating that a

host plant’s single interaction with one herbivore species

can alter subsequent interactions with a prevalent parasitic

plant, broadening our knowledge about community

dynamics. Jianqiang Wu (Kunming Institute of Botany,

China) showed that host mRNAs and proteins can be

translocated to Cuscuta australis and that when one

soybean plant is attacked by Spodoptera litura, certain

systemic signals are induced and transmitted to both C.

australis and another soybean host via the C. australis.

These signals induce increased levels of jasmonic acid-

isoleucine conjugates in the first soybean plant but not in C.

australis. This and RNA-seq analysis revealed that the

Cuscuta mediates inter-plant signalling and may provide

hosts with certain fitness advantages by sending ‘insect

attack’ alerts from infested to non-infested systemic plants.

Petra Světlíková (Kunming Institute of Botany, China)

described macro- and microscopic observations of

hydathode trichomes on the leaves of Rhinanthus

alectorolophus. Gas-exchange measurements were

combined to find a correlation among guttation, respiration,

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

and transpiration, a pattern attributable to active water

secretion. The observations reveal water secretion from the

glandular trichomes present on the abaxial leaf side. Based

on the carbon budget calculations, a potential role of the

trichomes in the evolution of holoparasitism within the

clade is proposed. Satoko Yoshida (RIKEN, Japan)

described a model plant system using the facultative parasite

Phtheirospermum japonicum. The hairy root transformation

system allowed visualization of expression of cell marker

genes and plant hormone responsive genes by in vivo

imaging. Transcriptome analysis was done to identify genes

expressed during haustorium formation. Reverse genetic

studies using RNAi techniques revealed that auxin-

biosynthesis gene YUC3 is involved in haustorium

formation. Furthermore, the genome of P. japonicum was

sequenced for comparative analyses with obligate parasites

and non-parasitic plants. Mutant collections from P.

japonicum ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized

lines also revealed possible genetic components involved in

plant parasitism. Pradeepa Bandaranayake (University of

Peradeniya, Sri Lanka) described ‘Functional

characterization of haustorial hair development in

Triphysaria versicolor’. Twenty-two genes whose mutations

in Arabidopsis lead to changes in root hair phenotypes,

including hairless roots and changes in root hair number,

morphology, position and length, were selected for this

study. Current results identifying parasite genes that

function in haustorial hair development using RNAi

technology were discussed. Song-Kui Cui (RIKEN, Japan)

talked about ‘Haustorial hairs are controlled by root hair

genes and involved in parasitism’. From a forward genetic

screening with EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate)-mutagenized

P. japonicum seeds 3 lines of mutants lacking haustorial

hairs were isolated. These mutants also lack root hairs,

suggesting that haustorial hairs are controlled by genetic

components involved in root hair development. Indeed,

PjEXP18, the orthologous gene to Arabidopsis root hair

specific EXPA18, was expressed in both root hairs and

haustorial hairs, suggesting similar genetic identity. All

three mutants show reduced number of haustoria upon host

rice root infection, suggesting a role of haustorial hairs on

the efficient host detection or host attachment. The genes

responsible for the mutants may be involved in host signal

perception. Vincent Goyet (University of Nantes, France)

discussed haustorium formation in the obligatory parasitic

plant Phelipanche ramosa. Papillae were induced in P.

ramosa germinating seeds upon treatment with biological

extracts. Seeds with these structures showed a significantly

higher infection rate on Brassica napus roots compared to

untreated germinating seeds. P. ramosa seeds displaying

pre-haustorium structures were taken for transcriptomic

approaches using a P. ramosa microarray. As a

complementary approach, a functional validation approach

based on fast calli generation from P. ramosa germinating

seeds was developed.

Relevant posters included identification of parasite

effectors mediating Striga gesnerioide-host plant

interactions; a comparison of the mitochondrial genomes of

Cistanche spp.; horizontal gene transfer between Cistanche

deserticola and its host; the mitochondrial gene sequence

and gene transfer in Cynomorium spp.; the molecular basis

for the convergent evolution of parasitism; and the

evolution and expression profile of transcription factors in

three Orobanchaceae.

A paper on economic losses from parasitic weeds in rice in

Africa by Jonne Rodenburg (Africa Rice Centre,

Tanzania) was presented by Julie Scholes. Estimates

suggest that up to 2.5 million farmers are suffering up to 2.5

million tons in lost yield. At least 40% of rice crops may be

infested by Striga species causing 40-70% yield loss worth

$26-160 million. Rhamphicarpa fistulosa is becoming

increasingly serious and causing comparable losss.

Countries most seriously affected include Guinea, Cote

d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar.

Roshanizah Rosli (Universiti Brunei, Darussalaam)

described the occurrence of Cassytha filiformis in Brunei on

at least 24 species in 5 families. Germination and

penetration were described and it is shown to reduce

photosynthesis in its hosts. Mohammed Zaroug,

(University of Gezire, Egypt) described the severe damage

to carrots caused by infestation by Cuscuta campestris. Bo

Xia (Shenyang Agricultural University, China) reported on

the serious damage caused by Arceuthobium sichuanense

on Picea species. Reductions in needle size and shoot

length were more serious in P. crassifolia than in P.

purpurea, the damage being caused apparently by

competition for nitrogen and for water.

A keynote paper by Danny Joel (Newe Ya’ar Research

Center, Israel) described the interesting transition of

Orobanche cumana from wild hosts to sunflower in Russia

and its subsequent spread to most other sunflower-growing

regions, including Israel in the 1970s, where it damages the

very susceptible confectionery sunflower crop. Over the

years there has been the gradual development of a form

infesting tomato which is now widespread and severe. This

may be the result of some hybridisation with O. cernua.

Ahmed Uludag presented a paper by Filiz Arsian (GAP

Research Institute, Turkey) exploring the possible effects of

climate change and concluding that Orobanche,

Philpanche, Striga and Viscum problems could all be

increased in the future. Gen-Sheng Bao (Lanzhou

University, China) gave the first of several papers and

posters on Pedicularis kansuensis increasingly infesting

high altitude pastures on the Quinghai-Tibetan plateau. This

contribution showed that grasses and legumes were the

main hosts, their suppression allowing an increase in

species richness. Lytton Musselman presented a paper by

Jay Bolin et al. (Catawba College, North Carolina, USA)

describing the interesting genera Hydnora and Prosopanche

(Hydnoraceae). The nomenclature is clarified, host range,

varying smells and pollination systems, some involving

endothermy, described. Also a probable new species from

Dhofar, Oman. Curiously no seed has ever been persuaded

to germinate. Curious and varied pollination systems in the

Balanophoraceae were also the theme of the paper by Nina

Hobbhahn (University of Capetown, South Africa).

Motion sensitive cameras showed that Mystropetalon

thomii is pollinated by 4 different mammals, attracted to the

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

copious sweet nectar while the foul-smelling Sarcophyte

sanguinea attracts beetles and insects who achieve

pollination without receiving any reward. Nina also treated

us to illustrations of many other exotic and colourful

Balanophoraceae and what is known of their varied

pollination strategies.

Posters related to this topic included one rather surprisingly

showing arbuscular mycorrhiza stimulating Striga

hermonthica rather than reducing it. Several others

concerned various aspects of the Pedicularis kansuensis

problem - on its relationship with AM fungi, one on root

morphology, others on genetic variation and on soil nutrient

status. A final one described techniques for cultivation of

the medicinally important Cistanche deserticola.

Control and Management:

The final day began with a keynote lecture from John

Pickett (Rothamsted Research, UK) providing us with a

history and update on the companion-cropping (‘push-pull’)

technique for Striga hermonthica control developed by

ICIPE in Kenya and now being used by many thousand

farmers in East Africa. Latest work is with the more

drought-tolerant Desmodium incanum and D. intortum,

allowing wider use, especially in sorghum. The technique is

also working well on S. asiatica. Understanding of the

active substances involved (C-linked glycosides of

apigenin) and the genes involved in their synthesis is

allowing exploration of their possible transfer to cowpea

and other legumes, which could lead to control of other

Orobanchaceae.

A further keynote presentation by Joseph Hershenhorn

(Newe Ya’ar Research Center, Israel) reviewed the

mechanism of action of the amino-acid inhibiting herbicides

– glyphosate, sulfonyl ureas and imidazolinones in

controlling Orobanche and Phelipanche spp. It had

previously been assumed that the parasites acquired all their

nutrition including amino-acids from their hosts, but it is

now confirmed that they do have their own amino-acid

biosynthesis mechanisms and that it is disruption of these in

the parasite that is responsible for their control.

Yongqing Ma (Northwest A&F University, China) showed

how successful use of alternative crops as trap-crops can

depend on the varieties used. Varieties of wheat, maize,

cotton, soyabean, rice, switchgrass and millet varied in the

quantity and type of strigolactones exuded and gave very

different results in the germination of Orobanche spp.

Yakkov Goldwasser (Hebrew University of Jerusalem,

Rehovot, Israel) had studied the application of granular

combinations of trifluralin, pendimethalin and isoxaben for

control of Cuscuta campestris in tomato, chickpea and

watermelon. Application of pendimethalin prior to C.

campestris germination gave best results. Joseph

Hershenhorn (Newe Ya’ar Research Center, Israel)

indicated that the current methods for control of

Phelipanche aegyptiaca in tomato in Israel depend on a

complex, delicate sequence of chemical treatments and

showed that repeated overall application of the established

and inexpensive growth regulator, maleic hydrazide,

provided excellent selective control and is currently being

registered for use in Israel. Musa Kolo (Federal Unversity

of Technology, Minna, Nigeria) had tested Hyptis

suaveolens, Senna obtusifolia and Desmodium intortum as

intercrops, within row, in maize grown on ridges and

recorded significant delays in emergence of Striga

hermonthica and 50% increases in crop yield. Peter Toth

(Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia)

described an intriguing means of detecting the early stages

of attachment of Orobanche cumana to the roots of

sunflower by detection of volatile emissions from the leaves

of the crop in response to parasite attachment, potentially

allowing for suitable control methods to be applied. It has,

however, yet to be confirmed that these emissions are

characteristic of Orobanche infection and are not stimulated

by other pathogens.

Related posters included one on control of Orobanche

cumana by herbicide and by salicylic acid seed treatment,

another on its genome sequence. One appraised the

tendency to host specificity in populations of Phelipanche

ramosa in France and another related to the difficulty of

controlling Pedicularis kansuensis with herbicides.

Host resistance:

A final keynote lecture was presented by Diego Rubiales

(Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Cordoba, Spain)

described the continuing search for good sources of

resistance to Orobanche spp. in legume crops, noting that

the parasite has been known in the Mediterranean region for

over 2000 years – yet there has been no natural or human

selection of crops with resistance. Some good resistance has

now been found in vetch and in pea (2 cultivars are about to

be released after 20 years of work) and there is some

indication of a source of low-stimulant exudation in faba

bean, but for many crops, alternative methods are still

needed, including e.g. intercropping with fenugreek.

Evgenia Dor (Newe Ya’ar Research Center, Israel)

described the use of chemical mutagenesis for the

conversion of an established tomato variety HRT, to create

HRT1, resistant to ALS-inhibiting herbicides including the

imidazollinones imazapic and imazapyr. Three applications

of either herbicide completely suppressed emergence of

Phelipanche aegyptiaca resulting in a doubling of yield.

Johann Louarn (Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes

Micro-organismes, Toulouse, France) described studies of a

cross between two sunflower lines with resistance to some

of the most virulent races of Orobanche cumana, mapping

QTLs for low stimulant, incompatible attachments etc. in

the diverse progeny. A final presentation by Steven Runo

(Kenyatta University, Kenya) emphasised the continuous

evolution or selection for virulence in Striga hermonthica in

response to development of new sorghum varieties and

described promising work with wild sorghum types with

potentially more durable resistance.

The Abstratcts are available at:

http://www.parasiticplants.org/docs/IPPS_13th_Congress_

Abstracts_Kunming_China.pdf

Hinanit Koltai and Chris Parker

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Papers and posters presented:

NB Only the presenter’s name is included below. He/she

may not always be the senior author.

Molecules and Biochemistry

Harro Bouwmeester - Structural diversity in the

strigolactones: biosynthesis and biological significance.

Koichi Yoneyama - Structure- and stereo-specific transport

of strigolactones from roots to shoots.

Salim Al-Babili - Carlactone: biosynthesis and application.

Alessio Cimmino - Fungal and plant metabolites for the

biocontrol of some parasitic plant species.

Rosemary Ahom - Identification of potential and potency of

allelochemicals in velvet bean (Mucuna cochinchinensis

(Wight) Burck) for the control of Striga hermonthica

(Del.) Benth.

Kristen Clermont - Comparative metabolomic analysis of

early parasite development of Phelipanche aegyptiaca

and Triphysaria versicolor.

Chong Yang - Identification of natural germination

stimulants from root exudates of sunflower cultivars

differing in tolerance to Orobanche cumana.

Yongqing Ma - Altitude and location have more effect on

contents of germination stimulants for broomrape seeds

than extraction methods from the crude extracts of

Houttuynia cordata.

Tadao Asami - Chemicals selectively regulating SL

functions.

Richard Louden - Can Striga-induced changes to

strigolactone biosynthesis or signalling pathways explain

key alterations in the morphology of its rice host?

Mahdere Shimels - Strigolactone profiles in Sorghum

bicolor: in relation to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal

symbioses.

Genes and Genomes:

James Westwood - Genome level interactions in the

parasite-host complex.

Gunjune Kim - Cuscuta gene expression and transcript

exchange varies depending on host species.

Weishu Fan - First complete mitochondrial genome from a

parasitic plant (Castilleja paramensis).

Guangda Liu - Using transcriptome data to assemble

mitochondrial and chloroplast genes of Cynomorium

songaricum.

Ken Shirasu - Vascular hijack by parasitic plants.

Hailey Larose - Pre- and post-germination transcriptome

analysis of two species of parasitic Orobanchaceae.

Guiling Sun - Novel Class II hAT transposons were laterally

transferred from Brassicaceae to root parasitic

Orobanchaceae.

Zhenzhen Yang - Comparative transcriptome analyses

reveal core parasitism genes and suggest gene

duplication and repurposing as sources of structural

novelty.

Xinhua Zhang - Transcriptome profiling during haustorium

development in the root hemiparasite Santalum album

Linn.

Host Parasite Interactions:

Julie Scholes - Deciphering the molecular mechanisms of

resistance to parasitic plants.

Suo Qiu - Understanding the genomic basis of virulence in

the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica.

Xiaoyan Jia - Engineering host cell wall to increase

resistance against Phelipanche aegyptiaca.

Loren Honaas - Risk versus reward: host dependent parasite

phenotypes in the facultative generalist Triphysaria

versicolor.

Muvari Tjiurutue - Gypsy moth damage delays parasite

attachment to cranberry hosts.

Jianqiang Wu - Parasitic plant, Cuscuta australis, transmits

inter-plant herbivory-induced signals.

Petra Svetlikova - The physiological role of hydathode

trichomes in parasitic Orobanchaceae.

Chun Su - Identification of parasite effectors mediating

Striga gesnerioides-host plant interactions.

Yuxia Song - Comparison of mitochondrial genomes

between Cistanche deserticola and Cistanche tubulosa.

Lei Shi - A horizontal gene transfer between Cistanche

deserticola and its host Haloxylon ammodendron.

Guilin Chen - Mitochondrial gene sequence analysis of

parasitic plant Cynomorium and horizontal gene transfer

study.

Yasunori Ichihashi - Molecular basis for the convergent

evolution of parasitism in plants.

Yu Wang - Evolution and expression profile of

transcription factor families in three parasitic plants of

the Orobanchaceae .

Satoko Yoshida - Genomic and genetic analyses of

haustorium formation using Phtheirospermum

japonicum as a model parasitic plant.

Pradeepa Bandaranayake - Functional characterization of

haustorial hair development in Triphysaria versicolor.

Songkui Cui - Haustorial hairs are controlled by root hair

genes and involved in parasitism.

Vincent Goyet - Towards the understanding of haustorium

formation in the obligatory parasitic plant Phelipanche

ramose.

Girija Vijayraghavan - Host parasite interactions and

nutrient dynamics of Dendrophthoe falcata (L.F.).

Ecology, phylogeny and evolution:

Jonne Rodenburg - The economic losses caused by parasitic

weeds in rice in Africa.

Roshanizah Rosli - An ecophysiological study of the

hemiparasitic Cassytha filiformis L. (Lauraceae) in

Brunei Darussalam, Borneo.

Mohamed Zaroug - Field dodder (Cuscuta campestris

Yuncker) a new pest of carrot (Dacus carota L.) in

Gezira Scheme, Sudan.

Awad Taha - Compatibility and incompatibility of some

monocotyledonous plant species to field dodder

(Cuscuta campestris Yuncker).

Bo Xia - Impact of Arceuthobium sichuanense infection on

needles and current-year shoots of Picea crassifolia and

Picea purpurea trees.

Daniel Joel - Factors affecting host range of weedy

Orobanchaceae: the Orobanche cumana case.

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Ahmet Uludag - How climate change affects host-parasite

relations and parasitic plant management.

Gensheng Bao - Effects of the hemiparasitic plant

Pedicularis kansuensis on plant community structure in

a degraded grassland.

Lytton Musselman - Taxonomy and phylogenetics of

Hydnoraceae and a potentially new Hydnora from

Oman.

Nina Hobbhahn - Pollination ecology of the South African

holoparasites Mystropetalon thomii and Sarcophyte

sanguinea, and diversity of pollination systems in

Balanophoraceae s.l.

Salman Rahimi - Explanation of parasite association aspects

in plants: game theory application in population

dynamics and community structure.

Andrew McNally - Do arbuscular mycorrhizas alleviate the

effect of Striga hermonthica on host performance?

Airong Li - AM fungi in roots of hemiparasitic Pedicularis:

friends or foes?

Airong Li - High plasticity in root morphology of two root

hemiparasitic Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) species.

Yanyan Liu - Influence of soil nutrient status and plant

community structure on occurrence and expansion of

Pedicularis kansuensis in Western China.

Wenjun Li - Genetic variation and phylogeographic history

of Pedicularis kansuensis (Orobanchaceae) inferred

from chloroplast DNA Sequences.

Yuchao Chen - Pot culture of an important Chinese

medicinal plant Cistanche deserticola.

John Pickett - Parasitic weed control: management of Striga

spp. by companion planting with Desmodium spp. and

opportunities for exploitation via GM.

Joseph Hershenhorn - How do amino acid biosynthesis

inhibiting herbicides control broomrapes.

Yongqing Ma - A cautious conception for Orobanche spp.

control by using allelopathy and trap crop.

Yaakov Goldwasser - Cuscuta campestris control with

granular cell division inhibiting herbicides

Joseph Hershenhorn - Egyptian broomrape control in

processing tomato with maleic hydrazide.

Musa Kolo - Use of some weed species for Witchweed

(Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth.) management in

maize (Zea mays L.).

Peter Toth - How to detect crop infestation by broomrapes

long before than they appear aboveground?

Luyang Hu - Role of herbicides and salicylic acid in

controlling obligate root

parasite Orobanche cumana growth in host crop

sunflower.

Stephane Munos - Towards the genome sequence of

Orobanche cumana.

Philippe Simier - Genetic diversity and host preference in

the parasitic weed Phelipanche ramosa L. Pomel’

Xiaolin Sui - Efforts taken in the control of weedy

Pedicularis kansuensis in China.

Diego Rubiales - Resistance to broomrape in legume crops.

Evgenia Dor - Broomrape management with a novel tomato

mutant line resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS)

inhibiting herbicides.

Johann Louarn - Genetic characterization of the interaction

between sunflower and Orobanche cumana.

Maina (Steven) Runo - Striga/sorghum arms race during

domestication as revealed by dual RNA-seq.

Post-Congress field tour

The advertised post-Congress tour had to be cancelled for

lack of takers but four of us were immensely fortunate that

Prof Ai-Rong Li and Prof Kai-Yun Guan were prepared to

arrange an alternative botanical excursion with vehicle and

student guides, following much the same itinerary. First to

Lijiang where we were joined by Dr ZhiFa Chen, local

staff-member of the Kunming Institute of Botany who

guided us to their Field Station at 3,200 m (10,500 ft). From

there we climbed on foot to 3,700 m (12,000 ft) enjoying

the varied flora including many parasitic, weedy, beautiful

and interesting species, all patiently identified for us by Dr

Chen. Among the parasitics was an abundance of

Pedicularis species (China has 363 species), especially the

magnificent and common P. rex Among the beautiful were

meadows covered with Primula conspersa. On the way

down the mountain we stopped at 2,700 m to collect the

mistletoe Taxillus caloreas causing significant damage to

the pine Pinus amandii. The next day we drove from Dali

up onto Cangshan mountain, again to 3,200 m. On the way

the roadside was often dominated by the introduced

Eupatorium adenophorum (Chromolaena adenophora)

well-known in this region for killing horses. Higher up,

again plenty of Pedicularis spp. Among other interesting

species was the small blue-flowered Gentiana panthaica

whose flowers closed within 30-60 seconds of any

disturbance. (blowing or shaking).

Pedicularis rex Taxillus caloreas

We are profoundly grateful to all those who made this trip

possible – Profs Ai-Rong Li and Kai-Yun Guan for their

detailed arrangements, to Xiao-Lin Sui and Lei Xiang for

their patient attendance on us, to Dr Chen for his expert

botanical help and not least to our very able driver, Yun

Liang.

Chris Parker, Peter Toth, Ahmed Uludag, John Yoder

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

THE 1

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON

STRIGOLACTONES, WAGENINGEN, THE

NETHERLANDS, 1-6 MARCH 2015,

From 1-6 March 2015 the Laboratory of Plant Physiology of

Wageningen University hosted the 1

International

Congress on Strigolactones in collaboration with the COST

action STREAM, funded by the European Commission. The

local organising committee consisted of Harro

Bouwmeester, Rina Anthonijsz, Henk Hilhorst, Sander van

der Krol and Carolien Ruyter-Spira. The meeting was

sponsored by Syngenta, the Royal Academy of Sciences of

the Netherlands (KNAW), the Wageningen University and

Research Center LEB foundation, and COST action

STREAM. The program of the meeting covered all the

important areas in the research on strigolactones, Each

session featured a number of invited speakers, leaders in

their respective fields and a number of speakers were

selected from the submitted abstracts, all together offering a

rich program with 45 talks and 60 poster presentations.

Special attention was paid to poster viewing. Posters were

on display throughout the entire meeting, with selected

poster viewing and flash presentations scheduled every day.

Four posters got special awards for best poster in a number

of categories. The meeting was attended by 135 participants.

In the first session on Biosynthesis and transport the

advances on the biosynthesis of strigolactones were reported

by Shinjiro Yamaguchi, Salim Al-Babili, Philip Brewer and

Zhang Yanxia. Exciting is the discovery of strigolactone-

like, carlactone-derived, compounds that do not have the

characteristic B and C-ring but nevertheless exhibit

biological activity. As discussed by Shinjiro Yamaguchi,

this was first discovered in Arabidopsis but now seems to be

a common phenomenon in other plant species as well. The

core biosynthetic pathway of strigolactones and

strigolactone-likes is now elucidated up to carlactone (Salim

Al-Babili) and the strigolactone-like carlactonoate (Shinjiro

Yamaguchi) and towards the canonical strigolactones, 4-

deoxyorobanchol and orobanchol in rice (Zhang Yanxia).

However, questions remain with regard to the role of LBO,

a strigolactone(-like) biosynthetic enzyme with unknown

function (Philip Brewer), how the methoxy group is

introduced and what the role is of diverse decorations of

other canonical strigolactones as well as strigolactone-likes.

The work of Enrico Martinoia on the transport of

strigolactones begins to shed light on directional internal

transport of strigolactones as well. After their discovery of

PDR1 as strigolactone exporter they now showed that PDR1

is also localised acropetally in root cells, suggesting that in

the root tip the transporter is involved in acropetal transport

of strigolactones.

In the session Perception of strigolactones and

downstream signaling an update was given on the state-of-

the-art with regard to strigolactone perception and binding

by D14 (Kimberley Snowden, Yoshiya Seto), the

subsequent binding of SL/D14 to the SCF

MAX2

complex

which then targets SMAXL proteins for ubiquination and

proteasome mediated destruction (Jiayang Li, Stephanie

Kerr). Interestingly, both the signaling molecule and the

receptor of SL are subject to signaling related turnover

(Pilar Cubas). A strong case was made for true targets of

strigolactone signaling based on multiple complementary

evidence (Tom Bennett). An interaction between

strigolactones and auxin and cytokinins links to flavonol

formation, which in turn affects lateral root development

(Sofie Goormachtig)

In the session Chemistry of strigolactones, Binne

Zwanenburg gave an overview of this field and his

contribution to it in the past 20 years. As an example of

biology-guided synthesis of strigolactone analogs Tadao

Asami presented their work on the optimisation of

strigolactone analogs using binding to D14 to guide the

synthesis. An important tool in the characterisation of the

strigolactone receptors is the use of fluorescent

strigolactone analogs, which was discussed by Cristina

Prandi and Francois-Didier Boyer. The latter presented a

molecule that will fluoresce only upon hydrolysis by the

D14 receptor. Claudio Screpanti discussed the possibilities

to use strigolactone analogs in agriculture while Antonio

Evidente discussed alternatives for strigolactones that can

be extracted from fungi and plants.

In the session Strigolactones in plant development,

Ottoline Leyser and Christine Beveridge presented their

progress on, respectively, the understanding of the role of

strigolactones and carbohydrate signalling in the regulation

of the oldest known developmental process controlled by

strigolactones, shoot branching. Hinanit Koltai and Soizic

Rochange presented the role of strigolactones in the

regulation of root architecture and leaf serration, while

Thomas Greb, Yasmine Ligerot discussed the role of

downstream targets (SMXLs), auxin in the regulation of

plant development by strigolactones. Alexander van der

Krol presented a role for strigolactones in plastidial

stromule formation, which turns out to be independent of

the conventional role of MAX2 in strigolactone signaling.

Martin Parniske and Kohki Akiyama introduced the session

Strigolactones and AM fungi with, respectively,

presentations on the wider molecular dialog between plants

and fungi and the role of strigolactones in this dialog. The

session continued with presentations on the role of abiotic

stress on the plant-AM interaction and the role of

strigolactones in this (Juan Antonio Lopez-Raez) and the

molecular mechanisms involved in plant-AM interaction

(Eloise Foo, Caroline Gutjahr).

In the session Evolution of strigolactones the speakers

tried to tie together the evidence we have from several

different systems about how strigolactones and

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

strigolactone signalling may have evolved. Steven Smith

approached this question with a comparison between

karrikin and strigolactone signalling, while Catherine

Rameau presented the results they have on strigolactone

signalling in Physcomitrella patens. Along the latter line,

Sandrine Bonhomme and Mauricio Lopez-Obando

discussed the role of MAX2 and D14-LIKE1s in P. patens.

Shigeoh Toh and Evgenia Dor discussed the involvement of

strigolactones in germination of non-parasitic and parasitic

plants, respectively.

The discussion on the role of strigolactones in germination

in parasitic plants was continued in the session

Strigolactones and parasitic plants in which Koichi

Yoneyama first reviewed the role of natural strigolactones

in parasitic plant germination. Subsequently, Peter McCourt

and David Nelson discussed the evidence that D14-LIKE1

homologs in parasitic plants seem to have evolved to detect

strigolactones in the exudates of their hosts. Jean-Bernard

Pouvreau discussed the mechanism by which strigolactones

induce germination in parasitic plants through catabolism of

ABA in which DNA methylation seems to play a role.

Yukihiro Sugimoto described the identification of the

sunflower strigolactone, heliolactone, with an intriguing

strigolactone-like structure. Radi Aly and Stefano Pavan

subsequently described approaches using genetic

modification and selection, respectively, to breed crops that

have reduced strigolactone secretion and hence display

resistance towards parasitic plants.

Poster awards: The Syngenta-sponsored poster award of

€500,= for the best poster on the possible application of

strigolactones in agriculture was awarded to Ivan Visentin

for his poster entitled Strigolactones as root-to-shoot signals

in tomato plants under osmotic stress. There were also three

COST action Stream Poster awards for the best posters in

three of the COST actions working groups.

Outlook: The meeting was very successful; there was a

spirit of enthusiasm and excitement about all the important

science going on in the field. In a meeting with the scientific

committee during the 1

ICS we reached the conclusion that

the meeting was timely and highly useful. We decided to try

to organise these meetings also in the future, preferably on a

regular, biannual basis. It was decided to have the 2

ICS in

Turin in spring 2017. The meeting will then be organised by

Cristina Prandi and Hinanit Koltai again in conjunction with

COST action STREAM.

Harro Bouwmeester

Conference Chair and Local host

Papers presented with direct reference to parasitic

plants:

Evgenia Dor - The development of a new race of

Orobanche cumana with a wider host range is due to

changes in seed response to strigolactones.

Koichi Yoneyama - Natural strigolactones as germination

stimulants for root parasitic plants.

Peter McCourt - Chemical genomics and strigolactone

biology.

David Nelson - Neofunctionalization of KAI2 ligand-

specificity likely enabled host-perception in

parasitic weeds .

Jean-Bernard Pouvreau - DNA methylation regulates P.

ramosa seed germination by controlling strigolactone-

dependent expression of PrCYP707A1, an ABA

catabolic gene.

Radi Aly - Enhanced host resistance to parasitic weeds by

silencing and blocking key-genes involved in

strigolactone pathway.

Yukihiro Sugimo to - Heliolactone, a non-sesquiterpene

lactone germination stimulant for root parasitic weeds

from sunflower.

Stefano Pavan - Characterization of the first pea (Pisum

sativum L.) natural strigolactone-deficient mutant

resistant to crenate broomrape (Orobanche crenata

forsk.).

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WEED

SCIENCE SOCIETY OF ISRAEL, 24 FEBRUARY,

2015

On February 24, 2015 the Weed Science Society of Israel

(WSSI) celebrated its 50th Anniversary on the occasion of

the society's 23

Biennial Meeting, which was held at the

Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment of the Hebrew

University of Jerusalem, in Rehovot.

The WSSI was founded by Dr. Gideon Cohen and other

scientists of the Agricultural Research Organization and the

Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, with the

original aim ‘to extend, share and distribute knowledge

regarding weed control in Israel’. Since then the WSSI

unites all persons who are involved in weed research and

weed management in the country, including researchers,

students, Extension Service personnel, experts from

chemical companies, herbologists of the Plant Protection

and Inspection Services, and interested farmers. One of the

main characteristics of the WSSI is its intimate interaction

with farmers. During its 50 years the WSSI organized

hundreds of field excursions, courses and seminars.

Twenty three scientific lectures were presented in our 23

Biennial Meeting, including four scientific sessions:

Broomrape Physiology and Genetics; Ecological and Non-

chemical Weed Control; Chemical Weed Control; and

Weed and Crop Resistance to Herbicides. At the General

Assembly a presentation about ‘Simazine, dalapon

and

WSSI funny stories from the 2

Weed Control Symposium

in 1966’ was given by Mr. Doron Baum (CTS group).

Certificates of Honour were presented to recently retired

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

members. The ‘Goldwasser-Zysman Student Scholarship for

Advanced Studies on Parasitic Plants’ was presented by Dr.

Yaakov Goldwasser on behalf of his family in memory of

family members who died during the Holocaust, with the

aim of strengthening advanced studies on parasitic plants in

modern Israel. The scholarships were awarded to Ms. Tal

Shilo from Newe Yaar Research Center for her thesis

‘Physiological aspects of the interaction between tomato

and Egyptian broomrape’ and to Mr. Amnon Kochavi from

the Faculty of Desert studies at the Ben-Gurion University

of the Negev, for his thesis ‘The effect of abiotic stresses on

broomrape-host plant interactions’.

WSSI president Mr. Shaul Graf passes the gavel to the new

president Dr. Evgenia Dora

The conference ended with a formal anniversary dinner,

during which WSSI members and invited guests enjoyed

delicious food and made a toast in honor of the occasion.

Honorary WSSI president Prof. Baruch Rubin shared his

memories about his start in weed research after joining the

WSSI in 1967. Dr. Tuvia Yaakobi presented a film about

the use of sprayers in the late 1960

. Ex Head of the Weed

Research Department at Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Dr.

Yeshayahu Kleifeld, congratulated all present WSSI

members on the society's anniversary and wished WSSI 50

more years of fruitful research. Mr. Evgeny Smirnov

presented a film about the history of the WSSI. The

members shared joyful memories of WSSI activities.

WSSI President Evgenia Dor

Weed Research Dept., Newe Ya'ar Research Center, ARO,

Israel

THE WONDROUS CYNOMORIUM

Among the several thousand parasitic plants that thrive in a

wide range of ecosystems, a few hold a special position,

either for their scientific interest, economic importance, or

historical relevance. Cynomorium belongs to the latter,

exclusive guild.

The only genus in the family Cynomoriaceae, Cynomorium

hosts two species of non-photosynthetic holoparasites

growing on the roots of a variety of host plants: C.

coccineum L., widespread in the Mediterranean region

(Portugal and Spain, Italy, Greece, northern Africa) and

also found in the Middle East and in the Arabian peninsula,

and C. songaricum Rupr., which occurs in Iran,

Afghanistan, China, and Mongolia (some authors consider

C. songaricum a subspecies of C. coccineum).

The deep purple, fleshy flowering stems of Cynomorium,

up to 25 cm high, emerge from a branched, subterranean

and perennial rhizome. The club-shaped inflorescence bears

a multitude of tiny female, male, and hermaphroditic

flowers. In the case of C. coccineum, the stems emerge

from the ground in April-May, typically associated with

host plants belonging to the Chenopodiaceae,

Amaranthaceae, Cistaceae and some other plant families.

Recent phylogenetic studies have indicated that

Cynomorium is not related to the tropical obligate parasites

within the Balanophoraceae (which they resemble

morphologically), as reported by most classifications, but

rather is close to the Saxifragales (Nickrent et al., 2005).

Cynomorium coccineum. Photo: Antonio Rescigno

Both C. coccineum and C. songaricum have a long history

of use in traditional medicine. In China, C. songaricum –

known as Suo Yang in the Chinese Pharmacopeia – has

been indicated for the treatment of impotence, premature

ejaculation, kidney-yang deficiency, and spermatorrhea

(Cui et al., 2013). In Saudi Arabia and bordering countries,

C. coccineum has been known and used for centuries.

Called Tarthuth, it was an important food source in times of

famine or food shortage in desert lands, both for men and

their camels, and was highly regarded in folk medicine, as a

drug with aphrodisiac, spermatopoietic, tonic and astringent

properties (Lebling, 2003). In the wider Mediterranean

region, this plant was dubbed ‘Maltese Mushroom’, or

‘Fungus Melitensis’, owing to the fact that after learning of

its curative properties from the Arabs, the Knights of

Military Order of Malta introduced it in the European

medical practice, and traded the plant powder for the cure

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

of apoplexy, dysentery, venereal diseases, ulcers, vomiting,

and so on. The Knights even discovered the plant as

naturally occurring in the Maltese Islands, vigorously

guarding the growing sites (such as Fungus Rock, off Gozo)

to protect their treasure (Lanfranco, 1960).

The large Mediterranean islands certainly make an

important habitat for Cynomorium. Besides Malta, the plant

grows on Crete, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. In these areas,

the plant is mainly restricted to the coast or in retrodunal

marshes, where it parasites halophytic plants such as

Atriplex, Inula, and Tamarix.

Together with several colleagues, we have recently started a

project aimed at the detailed characterization of the

biochemical composition of C. coccineum as spontaneously

occurring in Sardinia, and of its nutraceutical and

pharmaceutical properties. In the island, this plant was

traditionally used as antidiarrhoeal remedy, and for its

astringent and antihemorrhagic properties (the aerial part

was also a source of a dye for textiles and small wooden

crafts).

In a first run of experiments, we evaluated the antioxidant

potential of fresh specimens of C. coccineum. Both aqueous

and methanolic extracts were rich in phenolics and

flavonoids and showed a significant total antioxidant power,

also exerting an in vitro protective effect in different

bioassays of oxidative stress (Zucca et al., 2013). Further,

fixed oil obtained from dried stems of the plant was able to

increase the amount of essential fatty acids in normal

intestinal epithelial cells (Rosa et al., 2012). Taken together,

these data indicate the value of C. coccineum as a potential

source of antioxidants and phytochemicals useful in the

preparation of nutraceuticals and functional foods.

The fixed oil of C. coccineum also displayed a significant

growth inhibitory effect on B16F10 melanoma and colon

cancer Caco-2 cells, and even to potentiate the growth

inhibitory effect of the antitumor drug 5-fluorouracil in

Caco-2 cells (Rosa et al., 2015). Next, we attempted to

assess the antifungal activity of C. coccineum extracts,

finding that the methanolic extract was very active against

Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida guilliermondii and

Candida krusei (Gonçalves et al., 2015). Thus, C.

coccineum is indeed endowed with intriguing biological

activities, revealing a so far untapped potential as source of

therapeutics for specific pharmaceutical applications.

‘It ought to be kept in mind, that in ancient times most

plants, especially aromatic species, or those that in one way

or other struck man as having some peculiar shape or

property, were made use of for medicinal or culinary

purposes. Most of these plants, however, contain no real

property able to combat ailments’ warns Lanfranco in his

account on C. coccineum (Lanfranco, 1960).

Although this is a wisely cautionary approach to the much

claimed (and often non-existent) properties of plants used in

traditional medicine, it seems not apply to the magnificent

Cynomorium, which has just begun to reveal its secrets.

References

Cui Z, Guo Z, Miao J, Wang Z, Li Q, Chai X, Li M. 2013.

The genus Cynomorium in China: an

ethnopharmacological and phytochemical review.

Journal of Ethnopharmacology 147: 1-15

Ghrabi Z. 2005. Cynomorium coccineum L. In A guide to

medicinal plants in North Africa, IUCN, Centre for

Mediterranean Cooperation, Malaga, Spain. Pp 113-

114

Gonçalves MJ, Piras A, Porcedda S, Marongiu B,

Falconieri D, Cavaleiro C, Rescigno A, Rosa A,

Salgueiro L. 2015. Antifungal activity of extracts from

Cynomorium coccineum growing wild in Sardinia

island (Italy). Nat. Prod. Res. 2015 (in press, doi:

10.1080/14786419.2014.1000892

Lanfranco GG. 1960. Cynomorium coccineum Linn., a

Maltese historical plant. Journal of the Malta Historical

Society 3: 53-70

Lebling RW. 2003. The treasure of Tarthuth. Aramco

World no. 54, pp. 12-17 (available at:

http://www.aramcoworld.com/issue/200302/the.treasur

e.of.tarthuth.htm)

Nickrent DL, Der JP, Anderson FE. 2005. Discovery of the

photosynthetic relatives of the “Maltese mushroom”

Cynomorium. BMC Evolutionary Biology 5: 38

Rosa A, Nieddu M, Piras A, Atzeri A, Putzu D, Rescigno

A. 2015. Maltese mushroom (Cynomorium coccineum

L.) as source of oil with potential anticancer activity.

Nutrients 7: 849-864

Rosa A, Rescigno A, Piras A, Atzeri A, Scano P, Porcedda

S, Zucca P, Assunta Dessì M. 2012. Chemical

composition and effect on intestinal Caco-2 cell

viability and lipid profile of fixed oil from

Cynomorium coccineum L. Food and Chemical

Toxicology 50: 3799-3807

Zucca P, Rosa A, Tuberoso CI, Piras A, Rinaldi AC,

Sanjust E, Dessì MA, Rescigno A. 2013. Evaluation of

antioxidant potential of “maltese mushroom”

(Cynomorium coccineum) by means of multiple

chemical and biological assays. Nutrients 5: 149-161

Andrea C. Rinaldi and Antonio Rescigno

Department of Biomedical Sciences

University of Cagliari, (Sardinia, Italy)

rescigno@unica.it

rinaldi@unica.it

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

PRESS REPORTS

Mistletoebird: Australia's native flowerpecker

Flowerpecker birds (Dicaeidae) from the tropical regions of

southern Asia are pretty little songbirds that do a fantastic

job at combining the drab greys, greens, olives, whites and

tans of their plumage with spectacular washes of colour.

A male Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) near Lake

Ginninderra, Canberra (Credit: Duncan McCaskill)

You might be wondering why we don't just call the species

the fire-breasted firepecker, which is objectively a far better

name than the mistletoebird, but its relationship with

mistletoe is what makes this bird so special. It feeds off the

berries of the mistletoe plant, and in return for this constant

food source, the birds have evolved to be the perfect carrier

and distributor of the seeds within. Unlike many other birds,

the mistletoebird has no gizzard - a specialised pouch

behind its stomach - to grind its food, which means the fruit

of the berries can be digested without the seeds inside being

destroyed. According to scientists from James Cook

University in Queensland, to further protect the consumed

mistletoe seeds, the mistletoebird also has a modified

sphincter muscle located at the base of its stomach, which

can be closed to prevent the seeds from mixing with harsh

digestive enzymes. This means they can basically travel all

the way through the gut and be pooped out on the other side

and still be fit for germination. ‘The seeds are sticky when

excreted, and often several seeds are linked in a long

glutinous thread, which adheres to the branch due the bird's

habit of restless switching about. Which is super-gross, but

kind of genius, because the seeds can stay put in the safety

of mistletoe branches while they wait to be germinated, and

the practice ensures a never-ending supply of mistletoe

berries for the mistletoebird!

The species is found all over Australia, except in the driest

parts of Tasmania. It's also native to the eastern Malauku

Islands of Indonesia,

Becky Crew, Australian Geographic, 9 January, 2015

Hunt to kill Red Witchweed drags past the 18 month

mark

Canegrowers Mackay is standing firmly behind its growers

impacted by notifiable pest red witchweed (Striga asiatica)

as the time spent on finding a resolution drags past the 18

month mark. Chairman Kevin Borg said deliberations

between the Federal Government and Biosecurity

Queensland, and other industries potentially at risk, had

been underway since the Class 1 pest was first found on

Mackay region farms. ‘Since then, four cane growers and

one grazier have suffered significantly through what has

been a very long, drawn-out process,’ Mr Borg said. ‘The

gift to these primary producers of a resolution appears to be

constantly hovering on an ever-moving horizon.’

Mr Borg said a recommendation has been put forward to

advise on an eradication plan for red witchweed, and

Canegrowers has agreed to be a part of this with a caveat

that it is finalised with a mid to end of February timeline.

‘Our growers are close to breaking point - they have lost

patience, and frankly I cant blame them.’

He said he was hopeful a resolution - an effective and

viable eradication and management plan - would be

forthcoming by the new deadline.

Rebecca Strang, Daily Mercury

25th Jan 2015

OBITUARIES

DALE HESS 1954-2015

Remembering an inspiring colleague and Striga expert,

Dr. Dale E. Hess

Dale Hess, a passionate plant pathologist, Striga expert, and

teacher of agro-ecology passed away on March 1, 2015,

after living with cancer for three years. He left his wife

Ursula, their three sons and two grandchildren behind.

Dale Hess was born June 12, 1954 in Shirati, Tanzania.

Dale’s career reflected his love to his native Africa,

language, people, and the environment. After graduating

from Millersville State College in 1976 and serving with

Mennonite Central Committee in Burkina Faso, he was

introduced to the diversity of savanna plants. While

working as a plant pathologist in West Africa he became

acutely aware of the importance of sustainable food

production systems adapted to their cultural context. He

pursued a graduate degree in the plant sciences from Purdue

University in 1984, and a doctoral degree from Purdue in

1989. From 1990-2001 he served as Principal Scientist in

Cereal Pathology at the International Crops Research

Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in West

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Africa (Niger and Mali). From there he moved as Visiting

Assistant Professor of Agronomy to Purdue University. For

the last ten years he was employed by Goshen College

(Indiana) and worked as the Ecological Field Station

Director and Associate Professor of Agroecology in the

Sustainability and Environmental Education Department.

During his studies at Purdue University, and as

PrincipalPathologist at ICRISAT in West Africa, Dale

contributed important knowledge regarding the genetic and

physiological basis of Striga hermonthica resistance in

sorghum and pearl millet, and developed promising Striga

management strategies, including bio-control options.

Among many other exciting results, he developed (in Prof.

Gebisa Ejeta’s group) the famous “agar-gel assay” as an

easy, fast and cost-effective measure for a genotype’s ability

to stimulate Striga seed germination (Hess et al. 1992;

Phytochemistry 31(2): 493-497 - cited 133 times according

to Google Scholar). This assay has been used by numerous

people, and has also been developed further to study

additional resistance mechanisms. Meanwhile, also the first

Striga-resistant sorghum cultivars developed by marker-

assisted transfer of the resistance QTL identified under

Dale’s leadership in 2004 (Theoretical and Applied

Genetics 109: 1005-1016) have been released by a different

group in Sudan (Journal of Plant Science and Molecular

Breeding, http://dx.doi.org/10.7243/2050-2389-3-3).

Dale was a great person, appreciated all over the world. He

had excellent visions for a sustainable agriculture and

shared his knowledge with many people. His work will live

on, contributing to a better, more sustainable and food

secure future.

Bettina Haussmann (Bettina.Haussmann@uni-

hohenheim.de)

YESHAYAHU (‘SHIEKE’) KLEIFELD 1934-2015

Yeshayahu (‘Shieke’) Kleifeld was born in 1934 in the

agricultural high school Mikve Yisrael near Tel Aviv, in

which his father worked as the vegetable growing manager.

One year later the family moved to Moshav Netaim in

central Israel in which he worked from an early age on the

family vegetable farm. From early youth he learned from

his father how to grow different crops and combat their

pests and weeds. At age 16 Shieke moved by himself to

study at the Bet-Yerach high school near the Sea of Galilee.

Following his army service he joined Kibbutz Eyal in which

he worked in the vegetable fields and citrus groves. At the

age of 23 after marrying Ria, the young family left the

kibbutz and Shieke went to receive his B.A. and M.Sc. in

agriculture in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later

in the Rehovot Faculty of Agriculture campus of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The title of his M.Sc.

thesis was: ‘Evaluation of herbicides for selective weed

control in peanuts’. After completing his degrees he started

to work as an agricultural consultant for the extension

service of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and at the age

of 30 he moved with his family to Tivon in northern Israel

and joined the Newe Yaar agricultural research station of

the Ministry of Agriculture. In parallel to his work he

completed his PhD studies in the Hebrew University of

Jerusalem and the title of his thesis being ‘Elucidating the

mechanism of wheat selectivity to terbutryn’. After a few

years he became head of the department in which he served

until his retirement at age 65. Shieke was a member of

national and international weed science societies including

the WSSA and a member of numerous committees of the

Ministry of Agriculture including the committee for

pesticide registration. Shieke served as the President of the

Israeli Weed Science Society in 1981 and was granted

honorary membership in 2005. He was the Editor of ‘Aley

Esev’, the bulletin of the Israeli Weed Science society.

Throughout his career he published numerous papers in

local and international scientific journals.

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

After his retirement Shieke continued to be active as a

consultant and lecturer and in recent years he developed

together with the ‘Netafim’ drip irrigation company

protocols for drip chemigation of herbicides in many crops.

He conducted more than 100 field trials on this issue and his

pride was the development of successful chemigation of

herbicides to control broomrape in tomato and sunflower.

Shieke was a ‘down to earth’ person with a wealth of

practical knowhow in crops and weeds, extremely thorough

in his research and writing and throughout his career

listened to the needs of the farmers and devoted most of his

time to solving their problems in the field.

Shieke died suddenly on May 5

2015, one week before his

birthday in a week when he was busy with field trials

and preparing a lecture on herbicide application via drip

irrigation he was to present in a symposium at the same

week. Shieke is survived by his wife Ria, three sons, nine

grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

May he rest in peace.

Yaakov Goldwasser

NEW JOURNAL

‘ADVANCES IN PARASITIC WEED RESEARCH’

A new Frontiers journal ‘Advances in Parasitic Weed

Research’ has been launched ‘The goal of this Research

Topic is not only to present the most advanced research

dealing with the management of parasitic weeds, but also to

attract valuable articles on biology, physiology of

parasitism, genetics, population dynamics, resistance, host-

parasite relationships, regulation of seed germination, etc.,

in order to offer an outstanding windows to these enigmatic

plants, and contribute to their practical management.’

Topic editors are Monica Fernandez-Aparichio, Maurizio

Vuro and Hannan Eizenberg.

Publication fees can be as high as $1900 but reduced fees

are available:

– ‘Frontiers is always eager to consider solutions for any

barriers to publication. In cases where authors

genuinely do not have the means to pay our publishing

fees, they can apply for full or partial waivers

depending on the financial capability of the

corresponding author of the paper. Priority is given to

lower income countries, but individual limiting factors

affecting the corresponding author are also taken into

account. Low income countries are determined based

on the following guidelines:

– Up to 100% waivers are available for corresponding

authors from “low income” countries, as defined by the

World Bank Country Classification table calculated

using the ‘Atlas method’ (GNI per capita less than US$

664 - see this reference).

– Up to 50% waivers are available for corresponding

authors from ‘lower middle income’ countries, as

defined by the World Bank Country Classification

table calculated using the ‘Atlas method’ (GNI per

capita between US$ 664 and US$ 2,067 - see this

reference).

For more information see:

http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/plant-

science/section/crop-science-and-horticulture

FUTURE MEETINGS

Second International Legume Society Conference,

scheduled for 11th to the 14th October, 2016 at the Tróia

resort, near Lisbon, Portugal. Papers on parasitic weeds will

be welcome. For more information see:

(http://www.itqb.unl.pt/meetings-and-courses/legumes-for-

a-sustainable-world

GENERAL WEB SITES

For individual web-site papers and reports see

LITERATURE

For information on the International Parasitic Plant Society,

past issues of Haustorium, etc. see:

http://www.parasiticplants.org/

For past and current issues of Haustorium see also:

http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/haustorium/index.shtml

For the ODU parasitic plant site see:

http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/index.ph

For Dan Nickrent’s ‘The Parasitic Plant Connection’ see:

http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/

For the Parasitic Plant Genome Project (PPGP) see:

http://ppgp.huck.psu.edu/

For information on the new Frontiers Journal ‘Advances in

Parasitic Weed Research’ see:

http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/3938/advance

s-in-parasitic-weed-research

For information on the EU COST 849 Project (now

completed) and reports of its meetings see:

http://cost849.ba.cnr.it/

For information on the COST/STREAM conference see:

http://streamisrael2013.wix.com/stream-israel-2013

For information on the EWRS Working Group ‘Parasitic

weeds’ see: http://www.ewrs.org/parasitic_weeds.asp

For a description and other information about the

Desmodium technique for Striga suppression, see:

http://www.push-pull.net/

For information on the work of the African Agricultural

Technology Foundation (AATF) on Striga control in

Kenya, including periodical ‘Strides in Striga

Management’ and ‘Partnerships’ newsletters, see:

http://www.aatf-africa.org/

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

For Access Agriculture (click on cereals for videos on

Striga) see: http://www.accessagriculture.org/

For The Mistletoe Center (including a comprehensive

Annotated Bibliography on mistletoes up to 1995, but

apparently incomplete since then) see:

http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/mistletoe/

For information on future Mistel in derTumortherapie

Symposia see:

http://www.mistelsymposium.de/deutsch/-

mistelsymposien.aspx

For a compilation of literature on Viscum album prepared by

Institute Hiscia in Arlesheim, Switzerland, see:

http://www.vfk.ch/informationen/literatursuche (in

German but can be searched by inserting author name).

For the work of Forest Products Commission (FPC) on

sandalwood, see: http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au (Search

Santalum)

THERAPEUTIC USES OF PARASITIC PLANTS:

ARE YOU INTERESTED?

The literature lists in Haustorium include a substantial

proportion of papers on medicinal uses. We consider that

these are relevant, and there is often useful incidental

information on the distribution and other aspect of the

species involved but we are seeking your help:

We would welcome comments on the usefulness of these

references and whether we should continue including them.

In this issue they are highlighted in blue.

Due to the a substantial proportion of papers on medicinal

uses - is there someone who would like to help prepare the

brief entries on these papers and guide our readers to the

more important research results? Any contribution of this

nature would be warmly acknowledged.

Do please respond to any of the editors listed at the end of

the newsletter

LITERATURE

*indicates web-site reference only

Items in bold selected for special interest

Items in blue relate to therapeutic uses of parasitic

plants

Abbes, Z., Mkadmi, M., Trabelsi, I., Amri, M. and Kharrat,

M. 2014. Orobanche foetida control in faba bean by

foliar application of benzothiadiazole (BTH) and

salicylic acid. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science

20(6): 1439-1443. [Foliar application of 1 mM salicylic

acid or 0.05 g/l BTH reduced numbers and dry weight of

O. foetida by ca. 45 and 70% respectively. Both

compounds also reduced germination of O. foetida by

30-50%.]

Abdalla, M.M.F., Shafik, M.M. and El-Wahab, M.M.H.A.

2014. Investigations on faba beans, Vicia faba L. 33.

Bulk vs. individual selection in variety Cairo 25 grown

under Orobanche stress and free field. Bulletin of

Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University 65(3): 243-254.

[‘Although many individual selections performed better

than bulks, some bulk selections had better performance

than some individual selections. Selection under

Orobanche crenata stress condition can not be

absolutely effective under stress and non stress

conditions.’]

Abedi, S., Darvishzadeh, R., Bernousi, I., Mandoulakani,

B.A., Maleki, H.H. and Shah, D. 2014. Genetic

variability of Orobanche aegyptiaca infesting tobacco in

Iran by Bayesian analysis. Biologia (Bratislava) 69(12):

1652-1659. [A study of genetic polymorphism among

44 O. aegyptiaca. individuals collected from different

regions of northwest Iran using ISSR markers. Two

genetic groups embraced 38 individuals with the

remaining categorized as mixed genotypes.]

Abraham Yirgu, Alemu Gezahgne, Habtemariam Kassa and

Minilik Tsega 2014. Parasitic plant in natural Boswellia

papyrifera stands at Humera, Northern Ethiopia. Journal

of Forestry Research 25(4): 923-928. [B. papyrifera is a

source of frankincense. In the sample plot 38% of trees

were infested by Tapinanthus globiferus (1-33

infections per tree) mainly on smaller branches. Other

tree species were not infected.]

Acharya, B.D. 2013. Relationship between seed viability

loss and seed bank reduction of Orobanche aegyptiaca

Pers. using non-host crops. Ecoprint: An International

Journal of Ecology 20: 97-106. [Field experiments in

Nepal showed that over a period not defined in the

abstract, the decline in viable seeds of O. aegyptiaca

was 76%, most of this being due to edaphic factors, the

trap-cropping effect contributing only 24%.]

Ac´imovic´, M., Maširevic´, S., Balaž, J., Pavlovic´, S.,

Oljača, S., Trkulja, N. and Filipovic´, V. 2014.

(Diseases and pests of fennel.) (in Serbian) Biljni Lekar

(Plant Doctor) 42(4): 286-292. [Including reference to

unspecified Cuscuta in Serbia.]

Adeeyo, A.O., Adefule, A.K., Ofusori, D.A., Aderinola,

A.A. and Caxton-Martins, E.A. 2013.

Antihyperglycemic effects of aqueous leaf extracts of

mistletoe and Moringa oleifera in streptozotocin-

induced diabetes Wistar rats. Diabetologia Croatica

42(3): 81-88. [It is concluded that ‘mistletoe’ (not

defined but presumably Viscum album) possesses

hypoglycemic properties that can be very useful in the

management of diabetic hyperglycemia.]

Adegbite, O.S., Akinsanya, Y.I., Kukoyi, A.J., Iyanda-Joel,

W.O., Daniel, O.O. and Adebayo, A.H. 2015. Induction

of rat hepatic mitochondrial membrane permeability

transition pore opening by leaf extract of Olax

subscorpioidea. Pharmacognosy Research 7(5)(Suppl.):

63-68. [Results suggest that extracts of O.

subscorpioidea could have use in pathological

conditions that require an enhanced rate of apoptosis.].

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Adeoluwa, O.A., Aderibigbe, A.O. and Olonode, E.T. 2014.

Antinociceptive property of Olax subscorpioidea Oliv

(Olacaceae) extract in mice. Journal of

Ethnopharmacology 156: 353-357. [Concluding that O.

subscorpioidea possesses potent analgesic action,

mediated centrally and peripherally, thus justifying its

use in the management of pain.]

Alamin, M.A., Yagi, A.I. and Yagi, S.M. 2015. Evaluation

of antidiabetic activity of plants used in Western Sudan.

Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine 5(5):

395-402. [Striga hermonthica aqueous extract did not

exert any antihyperglycemic effect to diabetic rats.]

Aldawsari, H.M., Abeer Hanafy, Labib, G.S. and Badr, J.M.

2014. Antihyperglycemic activities of extracts of the

mistletoes Plicosepalus acaciae and P. curviflorus in

comparison to their solid lipid nanoparticle suspension

formulations. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. Section C,

Biosciences 69(9/10): 391-398. [The total extracts of P.

acaciae and P. curviflorus as well as solid lipid

nanoparticle formulations exhibited a significant blood

glucose-lowering effect associated with antioxidant

effects in diabetic rats.]

Alonso-Castro, A.J., Zavala-Sánchez, M.A., Pérez-Ramos,

J., Sánchez-Mendoza, E. and Pérez-Gutiérrez, S. 2015.

Antinociceptive and anti-arthritic effects of kramecyne.

Life Sciences 121: 70-77. [Kramecyne, a peroxide

isolated from Krameria cytisoides could be a good

alternative for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis due

its antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.

From Mexico.]

Amugune, B.K., Thoithi, G.N., Mwangi, J.W., Omosa, L.K.

and Kibwage, I.O. 2013.Antimicrobial activity and

bioactive constituents of Alectra sessiliflora (Vahl)

Kuntze methanol extract. East and Central African

Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 16(3): 61-68.

[Whole plant extracts of A. sessiliflora, used

traditionally in western Kenya in the management of

microbial infections. exhibited activity against bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,

Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae and Bacillus

pumilus and fungi Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger

and Cryptococcus neoforman, perhaps due to p-

coumaric acid and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and a

flavonoid, luteolin.]

Anami, S.E., Zhang LiMin, Xia Yan, Zhang YuMiao, Liu

ZhiQuan and Jing HaiChun. 2015. Sweet sorghum

ideotypes: genetic improvement of stress tolerance. Food

and Energy Security 4(1): 3-24. [Including a section on

resistance to Striga and discussing the potential for

advanced genetic manipulation involving herbicide

resistance, Desmodium allelochemical production, RNAi

constructs, strigolactone production, etc.]

Ančic´, M., Pernar, R.; Bajic´, M.; Seletkovic´, A. and

Kolic´, J. 2014. Detecting mistletoe infestation on silver

fir using hyperspectral images. iForest 7: 85-91. [Silver

fir is an important crop in Croatia and Viscum album ssp.

abietis is an increasingly serious problem accentuating

other stress factors even leading to mortality. Surveying

was performed using a hyperspectral scanner from a

helicopter. Spectral Angle Mapper classification for 5°

proved to be the best classification method. The results

were confirmed by aerial surveying with a non-pilot

aircraft from a height of about 30 m above the crowns.

Results enable badly affected areas to be harvested

early.]

Anderle, B. and Leban, V. 2014. (Novelties of flora in the

Gorenjska region (northwestern Slovenia).) (in

Slovenian) Hladnikia 34: 3-26. [New localities listed for

Loranthus europaeus.]

Antonova, T.S., Strel'nikov, E.A., Guchetl', S.Z. and

Chelustnikova, T.A. 2014. (A variety of sunflower

broomrape forms on sunflower in the South of Russia.)

(in Russian) Zashchita i Karantin Rasteniĭ 11: 45-48.

[Describing a type of O. cumana producing multiple

shoots from each tubercle and noting that some shoots

had flowers developing below ground which produced

viable seed.]

Anwer Shah, Bharati, K.A., Javed Ahmad and Sharma,

M.P. 2015. New ethnomedicinal claims from Gujjar and

Bakerwals tribes of Rajouri and Poonch districts of

Jammu and Kashmir, India. Journal of

Ethnopharmacology 166: 119-128. [Balanophora

involucrata and Cuscuta epithymum among the most

frequently quoted as useful sources, hence deserving

further study.]

Anup Chandra. 2014 Infestation of Viscum album Linn. on

Robinia pseudo-acacia Linn. Indian Journal of Forestry

37(3): 289-290. [Almost all R. pseudo-acacia were

infested by V. album in the Rohru district of Himachal

Pradesh surveyed.]

Armenia, Yuliandra, Y. and Sattar, M.Z.A. 2014.

Comparative effectiveness of defatted hypotensive

crude extract, ethyl acetate and butanolic fractions of

Cassytha filiformis L. on different models of

hypertensive rats. World Journal of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences (WJPPS) 3(12): 200-208.

[Results indicated that the hypotensive effectiveness of

the defatted ethanolic extract of C. filiformis is better

than its ethyl acetate or butanolic fractions and effects

are greater on oxidative stress related hypertensive rats.]

Arslan, Z.F., Uludag, A. and Uremı̇s, I. 2015. Status of

invasive alien plants included in EPPO Lists in Turkey.

Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 45(1): 66-72.

[Arceuthobium species, along with Eichornia crassipes

are the only plant species in Turkey’s quarantine list.]

Asmare Dejen. 2014. On-farm evaluation of push-pull

system for stem borers and striga management on

sorghum in Northeastern Ethiopia. Biopesticides

International 10(2): 176-183. [Use of the push-pull

system involving Desmodium intercrop and Napier grass

surround reduced stemborer damage and emergence of

Striga hermonthica leading to yield increases of 50-70%

within one season as well as providing fodder,

increasing soil fertility and reducing soil erosion.]

Atera, E.A., Onyango, J.C., Pham Thien Thanh, Ishii, T.

and Itoh, K. 2015. Identification of QTL for Striga

hermonthica resistance using backcross population

derived from a cross between Oryza sativa (cv.

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Nipponbare) and O. rufipogon. Journal of Agricultural

Science (Toronto) 7(2): 99-105. [141 backcross

recombinant inbreed lines derived from a cross between

O. sativa (cv. Nipponbare) and O. rufipogon W630 were

screened. A single QTL explaining 6.6% of total

phenotypic variance was detected near RM242 marker

locus on chromosome 9, and the Nipponbare allele was

found to have S. hermonthica resistance.]

Aybeke, M., Şen, B. and Ökten, S. 2015. Pesta granule trials

with Aspergillus alliaceus for the biocontrol of

Orobanche spp. Biocontrol Science and Technology

25(7): 803-813. [Granules based on fungal

mycelia/spore mixtures from liquid and solid culture,

sclerotia and fungal mycelia reduced Orobanche

infection to a greater extent when applied early and at

high doses before crop sowing. Neither parasite or host

species apparent from abstract.]

Aydınlı, G. and Mennan, S. 2014. Effect of some plant

extracts on Meloidogyne arenaria Neal, 1889

(Tylenchida: Meloidogynidae) and tomato. Türkiye

Entomoloji Dergisi 38(3): 323-332. [Extracts of Viscum

album reduced galling of tomato by M. arenaria but

concentrations were high and practical usefulness

uncertain.]

Azeez, O.M. and Pitan, O.O.R. 2015. Influence of cowpea

variety on the potency and deterrent indices of six plant

powders against the seed bruchid, Callosobruchus

maculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Archives

of Phytopathology and Plant Protection 48(5): 441-451.

[Loranthus braunii (= Globimetula braunii) among

species reducing oviposition by C. maculatus and

emergence of adults. ‘Powders of any of the tested plant

species may be effectively exploited for bruchid control

in stored cowpea grains at reduced concentration of

1.25% provided.’]

Badu-Apraku, B., Fakorede, M.A.B., Oyekunle, M., Yallou,

G.C., Obeng-Antwi, K., Haruna, A., Usman, I.S. and

Akinwale, R.O. 2015. Gains in grain yield of early

maize cultivars developed during three breeding eras

under multiple environments. Crop Science 55(2): 527-

539. [Varieties EV DT-W 2008 STR, 2009 DTE-Y STR

Syn, and TZE-W DT C2 STR identified as the highest

yielding and most stable cultivars under a range of

stresses including Striga hermonthica.]

Bahizire Kayeye, J.L., Ndegeyi Kabale, B., Batumike

Cishibanji, P., Bagalwa Mashimango, J.J., Baluku

Bajope, J.P., Bashwira Sanvura, A. Basabose Kanyunyi,

A. and Bagalwa, B. 2014. In vitro phytochemical

screening and anthelmintic activity of Viscum

congolensis and Galiniera coffeoides against adult

earthworm Alma emini. International Journal of

Innovation and Applied Studies 7(3): 1232-1237. [‘V.

congolensis’ (= V. congolense?) in Congo perhaps

shown to have anthelmintic activity but not clear from

abstract.]

Bahraminejad, S., Amiri, R. and Abbasi, S. 2015. Anti-

fungal properties of 43 plant species against Alternaria

solani and Botrytis cinerea. Archives of Phytopathology

and Plant Protection 48(4): 336-344. [A Bartsia sp.

among 43 Iranian species tested but no result in

abstract.]

Baird, R., Stokes, C.E., Wood-Jones, A., Alexander, M.,

Watson, C., Taylor, G., Johnson, K., Remaley, T. and

Diehl, S. 2014. Fleshy saprobic and ectomycorrhizal

fungal communities associated with healthy and

declining Eastern Hemlock stands in Great Smoky

Mountains National Park. Southeastern Naturalist

13(Special Issue 6): 192-218. [In the stands studied,

companion species included Pyrularia pubera

(Santalaceae).]

Bakihj Bakar, Leong SowTein, Muhammad Remy Othman,

Mohamad Suffian, M.A. and Khalijah Awang. 2013.

Allelochemicals in Cuscuta campestris Yuncker. The

4th Tropical Weed Science Conference 2013. Weed

Management and Utilization in the Tropics, Chiang

Mai, Thailand, 23-25 January 2013, Proceedings: 16-22.

[Three compounds isolated from C. campestris,

kaempferol4, sitosterol1 and pinoresinol2 at doses of 1-

100 µM showed stimulatory effects on growth of radish,

lettuce and weedy rice seedlings.]

Baki Hj Bakar, Leong SowTein, Othman, M.R., Mohamad

Suffian, M.A. and Khalijah Awang. 2013.

Allelochemicals in Cuscuta campestris Yuncker. In:

Bakar, B.H., Kurniadie, D. and Tjitrosoedirdjo, S. (eds)

The role of weed science in supporting food security by

2020. Proceedings of the 24th Asian-Pacific Weed

Science Society Conference, Bandung, Indonesia,

October 22-25, 2013: 417-423. [Sitosterol1,

pinoresinol2, arbutin3, kaempferol4, quercetin5, and

astragalin6 identified in C. campestris. All showed

allelopathic effects at 500 mg/l, while some showed

stimulatory effects at lower concentrations.]

*Bao YanJu, Kong XiangYing, Yang LiPing, Liu Rui, Shi

Zhan, Li WeiDong, Hua BaoJin and Hou Wei. 2014.

Complementary and alternative medicine for cancer

pain: an overview of systematic reviews. Evidence-

based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2014:

Article ID 170396.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/170396/)

[A survey of literature suggesting that evidence for the

value of Viscum album in pain relief in cancer was low

or moderate.]

Barrett, C.F., Freudenstein, J.V., Li, J., Mayfield-Jones,

D.R., Perez, L., Pires, J.C. and Santos, C. 2014.

Investigating the path of plastid genome degradation in

an early-transitional clade of heterotrophic orchids, and

implications for heterotrophic angiosperms. Molecular

Biology and Evolution 31(12): 3095-3112. [Studies on

Corallorhiza may be of relevance to parasitic

angiosperms.]

*Baumgartner, S., Flückiger, H., Kunz, M., Scherr, C. and

Urech, K. 2014. Evaluation of preclinical assays to

investigate an anthroposophic pharmaceutical process

applied to mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extracts.

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative

Medicine 2014: Article ID 620974.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/620974/)

[An anthroposophically processed V. album extract,

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

produced by mixing winter and summer extracts in the

edge of a high-speed rotating disk showed at least as

good toxicity against cancer cells as a manually mixed

extract.]

Bayram, Y. and Çıkman, E. 2014. (An investigation of

broomrape species (Orobanche spp.) in lentil and tomato

fields, and infestation and density of Pytomyza

orobanchia Kaltenbach, 1864 (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

on broomrape species, in Diyarbakır Province.) (in

Turkish) Türkiye Biyolojik Mücadele Dergisi 5(2): 121-

135. [In lentil fields, the density of O. crenata and O.

aegyptiaca was 1-18/m

, while in tomato, the density of

broomrape (O. ramosa and O. aegyptiaca) was 1-10/m

All lentil and tomato fields were infested with

Orobanche spp. and all the Orobanche was infested with

P. orobanchia. Its possible use in integrated control is

discussed.]

*Behbahani, M. 2014. Evaluation of in vitro anticancer

activity of Ocimum basilicum, Alhagi maurorum,

Calendula officinalis and their parasite Cuscuta

campestris. PLoS ONE 9(12) e116049.

(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jour

nal.pone.0116049) [C. campestris parasitising O.

basilicum, A. maurorum, C. officinalis apparently

acquired lutein, lupeol and eugenol, respectively from its

host. The epoxide forms of these compounds are

potential drug candidates for inducing apoptosis in

human breast cancer cells.]

Bentley, J. and van Mele, P. 2015. Videos inspire farmers to

experiment. Farming Matters 31(1): 38-39. [Describing

the use of videos prepared by AccessAgriculture to help

farmers understand that soil fertility is a key to

controlling Striga (especially by using compost) and are

encouraging farmers to start experimenting. See

http://www.accessagriculture.org/node/1748/en for the

composting video).]

Binu, N.K., Ashokan, P.K. and Balasundaran, M. 2015.

Influence of different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and

shade on growth of sandal (Santalum album) seedlings.

Journal of Tropical Forest Science 27(2): 158-165.

[Glomus mosseae was shown to be the most effective of

3 Glomus spp. tested and some useful data obtained on

interactions with shade.]

Birhanie, Z.M. 2015. Participatory varietal selection of

maize (Zea mays L.) in Pawe and Guangua districts,

North Western Ethiopia. African Journal of Plant

Science 9(4): 223-227. [Striga-resistance included

among criteria on which farmers based their selection of

breeding material.]

Bozkurt, M.L., Muth, P., Parzies, H.K. and Haussmann,

B.I.G. 2015. Genetic diversity of East and West

African Striga hermonthica populations and virulence

effects on a contrasting set of sorghum cultivars.

Weed Research (Oxford) 55(1): 71-81. [This study

involving samples of S. hermonthica from 5 sites in

East and West Africa, and 16 sorghum cultivars

demonstrated some tendency for Striga samples from

East Africa to be more virulent than those from West

Africa, but only 8% of genetic variation was

attributable to the region of origin and 91%

occurred within populations, emphasising the

potential for natural selection and hence adaptation

to resistant varieties locally, and the need to

supplement the use of resistant varieties with other

integrated techniques.]

Candia, A.B., Medel, R. and Fontúrbel, F.E. 2014. Indirect

positive effects of a parasitic plant on host pollination

and seed dispersal. Oikos 123(11): 1371-1376.

[Confirming that infestation of Rhaphithamnus spinosus

by Tristerix corymbosus results in increased seed rain

and seedling establishment due to seed dispersal

processes rather than pollination effects.]

Cardoso, L.J.T., Mauad, L.P., Braga, J.M.A. 2015.

Lophophytum weddellii Hook. f. (Balanophoraceae):

first records for the Brazilian flora. Check List 11:1678.

[This species, known previously only from Colombia

and Peru, is reported from the Serra do Divisor National

Park near the border with Peru.]

Carraz, M., Lavergne, C., Jullian, V., Wright, M., Gairin,

J.E., Gonzales de la Cruz, M. and Bourdy, G. 2015.

Antiproliferative activity and phenotypic modification

induced by selected Peruvian medicinal plants on

human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells. Journal

of Ethnopharmacology 166: 185-199. [Krameria

lappacea among species used traditionally for liver and

digestive disorders and shown to have significant

antiproliferative activity against Hep3B cells. This was

associated with a lack of toxicity on primary human

hepatocytes in vitro.]

Castle, L.M., Leopold, S., Craft, R. and Kindscher, K. 2014.

Ranking tool created for medicinal plants at risk of

being overharvested in the wild. Ethnobiology Letters,

2014, 5, 77-88. [Santalum spp. among those compared

for their vulnerability to overharvesting in the wild.]

Chapman, T.F. 2015. Reintroduced burrowing bettongs

(Bettongia lesueur) scatter hoard sandalwood (Santalum

spicatum) seed. Australian Journal of Zoology 63(1):

76-79. [The marsupial rat, B. lesueur is shown to have a

valuable potential role in spreading seed of S. spicatum

to new sites.]

Chkhubianishvili, T., Kakhadze, M., Malania, I.,

Chubinishvili, M., Skhirtladze, R. and Rizhamadze, I.

2015. Basis for developing biotechnology for plant

protection means in Georgia. International Journal of

Agricultural Technology 11(2): 275-286. [O. cumana is

the major pest of sunflower crops in Georgia. Fusarium

oxysporum var. orthoceras from Israel has shown

excellent results in preliminary studies.]

Cimmino, A., Fernández-Aparicio, M., Andolfi, A., Basso,

S., Rubiales, D. and Evidente, A. 2014. Effect of fungal

and plant metabolites on broomrapes (Orobanche and

Phelipanche spp.) seed germination and radicle growth.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

62(43):10485-10492. [Among the metabolites tested,

epi-sphaeropsidone, cyclopaldic acid, and those

belonging to the sesquiterpene class induced broomrape

germination in a species-specific manner. epi-

Epoformin, sphaeropsidin A, and cytochalasans

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

inhibited germination of GR24-treated broomrape

seeds.]

Clayson, C., García-Ruiz, I. and Costea, M. 2014. Diversity,

evolution, and function of stomata bearing structures in

Cuscuta (dodders, Convolvulaceae): from extrafloral

nectar secretion to transpiration in arid conditions.

Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and

Systematics 16(6): 310-321. [Describing the occurrence

of secretory extrafloral nectaries (in Monogynella

species only) and stomatiferous protuberances, which

are non-secretory (ubiquitous on the flowers of Cuscuta

and Pachystigma, but absent on their stems, while

occurring on haustorial stems of Grammica spp. – not on

vegetative stems). Observations on water uptake and

transpiration suggest that the latter have evolved to

stimulate host water uptake under dry conditions.].

Corbet, S.A. and Huang ShuangQuan. 2014. Buzz

pollination in eight bumblebee-pollinated Pedicularis

species: does it involve vibration-induced triboelectric

charging of pollen grains? Annals of Botany 114(8):

1665-1674. [Explosive pollen release in Pedicularis is

stimulated by the precise frequency of buzzing by

Bombus frisianus bees. Different species of Pedicularis

require worker bees of particular size, and the frequency

of buzzing may have to vary according to size and

pollen load of the flowers, apparently resulting in

triboelectric (static) charging.]

Costa, R.M.P.B., Vaz, A.F.M., Xavier, H.S., Correia,

M.T.S. and Carneiro-Da-Cunha, M.G. 2015.

Phytochemical screening of Phthirusa pyrifolia leaf

extracts: free-radical scavenging activities and

environmental toxicity. South African Journal of Botany

99: 132-137. [The water extract from dried leaves of P.

pyrifolia showed greater anti-oxidant activity than

butanol, ethyl ether or ethyl acetate extracts. It also

exhibited low toxicity against Poecilia sp. fish, Artemia

salina brine shrimp and Aedes aegypti larvae In Brazil.]

Costea, M., García, M.A. and Stefanovic´, S. 2015. A

phylogenetically based infrageneric classification of the

parasitic plant genus Cuscuta (Dodders,

Convolvulaceae). Systematic Botany 40(1): 269-285. [A

new phylogenetic classification is proposed that places

all 194 currently accepted Cuscuta species into four

subgenera and 18 sections. An identification key, an

overview of morphology, geographical distributions,

taxonomic notes, and lists of included species are also

provided.]

Da Silva, M.P., de Barros, R.F.M. and Moita Neto, J.M.

2015. (Natural pharmacopeia of rural communities in the

State of Piauí, Northeast of Brazil.) (in Portuguese)

Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente 33: 193-207.

[Ximenia americana among the ‘most versatile’ of the

remedies surveyed.]

Dakskobler, I. 2015. (New localities and phytosociological

characteristics of sites of selected rare phanerogams in

Slovenia and north-eastern Italy. Hladnikia 35: 3-25.

[Recording new localities in Slovenia for Orobanche

elatior, O. alsatica ssp. alsatica and Pedicularis

hoermanniana.]

Daneshvar, A., Tigabu, M., Karimidoost, A., Farhadi, M.

and Odén, P.C. 2014. Growth characteristics and

reproductive output of dwarf mistletoe-infected

Juniperus polycarpos in Iran. Journal of Forestry

Research 25(4): 827-834. [Moderate infection of J.

polycarpos by Arceuthobium oxycedri did not seriously

reduce tree growth but did impair seed production and

germination, perhaps contributing to poor natural

regeneration.]

Danton, P. 2014. A contribution to the flora of Juan

Fernández archipelago (Chile). (Description of 4 new

taxa: Angiospermae - Erigeron corrales-molinensis sp.

nov. (Asteraceae), Euphrasia formosissima Skottsb.

subsp. cucharensis subsp. nov. (Orobanchaceae),

Haloragis masatierrana var. applanata var. nov. et var.

scabrida var. nov. (Haloragidaceae).) (in French) Acta

Botanica Gallica 161(4): 355-371.

Das, M., Fernández-Aparicio, M., Yang, Z.Z., Huang,

K., Wickett, N.J., Alford, S., Wafula, E.K.,

Depamphilis, C., Bouwmeester, H., Timko, M.P.,

Yoder, J.I. and Westwood, J.H. 2015. Parasitic

plants Striga and Phelipanche dependent upon

exogenous strigolactones for germination have

retained genes for strigolactone biosynthesis.

American Journal of Plant Sciences 6(8): 1151-1166.

[Results indicate that S. hermonthica and P.

aegyptiaca have retained functional genes involved in

strigolactone biosynthesis, suggesting that the

parasites use both endogenous and exogenous

strigolactones and have mechanisms to differentiate

between the two.]

Dash, R., Mishra, M.M. and Ranasingh, N. 2015.

Management of Cuscuta in niger under south eastern

hilly regions of Odisha. Environment and Ecology

33(1B): 605-606. [Reporting partial control of Cuscuta

(presumably C. campestris) and 10% yield increase in

niger seed with pre-emergence treatments of

pendimethalin and imazethapyr, but best treatments

involved a stale seedbed which may have contributed –

there was no stale seed-bed control.)

De Cuyper, C., Fromentin, J., Yocgo, R.E., de Keyser, A.,

Guillotin, B., Kunert, K., Boyer, F.D. and Goormachtig,

S. 2015. From lateral root density to nodule number, the

strigolactone analogue GR24 shapes the root

architecture of Medicago truncatula. Journal of

Experimental Botany 66(1): 137-146. [Showing that

strigolactone reduces the lateral root density in M.

trunculata and affects nodulation by Sinorhizobium

meliloti, increasing nodule number at 0.1 µM GR24 but

strongly reducing it at 2 and 5 µM.]

Delprete, P.G. 2014. Ombrophytum guayanensis, the first

record of subfamily Lophophytoideae

(Balanophoraceae) in the Guayana Shield. Phytotaxa

175:263-269. [A recent collection from French Guiana

was identified as a species of Ombrophytum unknown to

science (O. guayanensis), which is here described and

illustrated.]

Demey, A., de Frenne, P., Baeten, L., Verstraeten, G.,

Hermy, M., Boeckx, P. and Verheyen, K. 2015. The

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

effects of hemiparasitic plant removal on community

structure and seedling establishment in semi-natural

grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 26(3): 409-

420. [Removal of Rhinanthus angustifolius significantly

affected the abundance of species relative to control

plots, both positively and negatively, and decreased the

species evenness while removal of Pedicularis sylvatica

only increased the abundance of some species.

Juncaceae were increased by removal of either. It is

proposed as a new hypothesis that species with

persistent clonal spread are more vulnerable to

parasitism.]

Denchev, T.T., Denchev, C.M. and Shivas, R.G. 2013. Two

new Entyloma species (Entylomatales,

Ustilaginomycotina) from the USA. Mycobiota 3: 35-39.

[E. castillejae described from unspecified Castilleja sp.,

collected in Colorado in 1931.]

Deng LeJun, Zhou WeiPing, Liu ShaoFeng, Cai Cong, Gao

XiaoXia and Chen XiaoYing. 2014. (Phylogenetic

analysis of Santalum album in Zhanjiang based on

rDNA ITS sequence.) (in Chinese) Journal of

Guangdong Pharmaceutical University 30(3): 314-318.

[A new phylogenetic classification is proposed that

places all 194 currently accepted Cuscuta species into

four subgenera and 18 sections. An identification key, an

overview of morphology, geographical distributions,

taxonomic notes, and lists of included species are also

provided.]

Di Virgilio, A., Amico, G.C. and Morales, J.M. 2014.

Behavioral traits of the arboreal marsupial Dromiciops

gliroides during Tristerix corymbosus fruiting season.

Journal of Mammalogy 95(6): 1189-1198. [Using videos

recorded by camera traps to record the activity of D.

gliroides feeding on T. corymbosus in Argentina and

finding that it is mainly active on darker nights, avoiding

moonlight.]

Dinesh Aryal and Nadeem Khan. 2015. Anxiolytic and

motor coordination activity of ethanolic and aqueous

extracts of Dendrophthoe falcata leaves in mice.

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and

Research (IJPSR) 6(4): 1753-1760. [Concluding that the

ethanolic extract from leaves of D. falcata has anxiolytic

activity, perhaps by acting as the benzodiazepine

recognition site of the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor

complex.]

Dobrecky, C.B., Moreno, E., Garcés, M., Lucangioli, S.,

Ricco, R., Evelson, P. and Wagner, M.L. 2014.

(Polyphenol composition in Ligaria cuneifolia

(Loranthaceae) and its relationship with the antioxidant

capacity.) (in Spanish) Dominguezia 30(2): 35-39. [L

cuneifolia is used as a hypotensive agent in Argentina.

Analysis of a range of components confirms the

presence of flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids

which could account for its antioxidant activity.]

Dong LiNa, Wang Hong, Wortley, A.H., Li DeZhu and Lu

Lu. 2015. Fruit and seed morphology in some

representative genera of tribe Rhinantheae sensu lato

(Orobanchaceae) and related taxa. Plant Systematics and

Evolution 301(1): 479-500. [Describing the fruit and

seed morphology in 48 taxa of 22 genera in the tribe

Rhinantheae s.l. and related genera of Orobanchaceae.

Distinguishing five major types seed ornamentation viz.

reticulate, cristate-winged, sulcate, psilate and

irregularly striate. Providing a key based only on fruit

and seed characters.]

Donnapee, S., Li Jin, Yang Xi, Ge AiHua, Donkor, P.O.,

Gao XiuMei and Chang YanXu. 2014. Cuscuta

chinensis Lam.: a systematic review on

ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology

of an important traditional herbal medicine. Journal of

Ethnopharmacology 157: 292-308. [C. chinensis has

found use as a traditional medicine in China, Korea,

Pakistan, Vietnam, India and Thailand, commonly as an

anti-aging agent, anti-inflammatory agent, pain reliever

and aphrodisiac. Phytochemicals isolated include at

least 18 flavonoids; 13 phenolic acids; 2 steroids; 1

hydroquinone; 10 volatile oils; 22 lignans; 9

polysaccharides; 2 resin glycosides; 16 fatty acids.

These phytochemicals and plant extracts exhibit a range

of pharmacological activities that include

hepatoprotective, renoprotective, antiosteoporotic,

antioxidant, anti-aging, antimutagenic, antidepressant,

improve sexual function, abortifacient effects, etc.]

Dumont, E.S., Gnahoua, G.M., Ohouo, L., Sinclair, F.L.,

Vaast, P., Vaast, P. and Somarriba, E. 2014. Farmers in

Côte d'Ivoire value integrating tree diversity in cocoa for

the provision of ecosystem services. Agroforestry

Systems 88(6): 1047-1066. [Incidentally mentioning the

lack of control measures for (unspecified) mistletoes.]

El-Mokni, R., Domina, G., Sebei, H.and El-Aouni, M.H.

2015. Taxonomic notes and distribution of taxa of

Orobanche gr. minor (Orobanchaceae) from Tunisia.

Acta Botanica Gallica 162(1): 5-10. [Covering O.

amethystea, O. canescens, O. hederae, O. litorea, O.

minor and O. pubescens. O. litorea is new to North

Africa, and O. canescens has been confirmed for North

Africa more than 100 years after the only known

collection. O. hederae and O. pubescens are new to

Tunisia.]

Encheva, J., Köhler, H., Christov, M., Shindrova, P.,

Encheva, V. and Friedt, W. 2014. New sunflower (H.

annuus L.) lines as results of interspecific and

intergeneric hybridization and application of method of

direct organogenesis in F1 immature embryo. Bulgarian

Journal of Agricultural Science 20(6): 1444-1449. [The

method was used to create the interspecific crosses H.

annuus (cv. Albena) × H. tuberosus, H. annuus (cv.

Albena) × H. salicifolius and intergeneric cross H.

annuus (cv. Albena) × Verbisina helianthoides. Selfing

and selection yielded a diversity of new sunflower lines,

some of which showed resistance to Orobanche

cumana.]

Erasmus, L.J.C., Potgieter, M.J. and Semenya, S.S. 2015.

Erectile dysfunction: definition and materia medica of

Bapedi traditional healers in Limpopo province, South

Africa. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 9(3): 71-

77. [A survey confirmed that Osyris lanceolata is

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

among plants used as aphrodisiacs – but no proof of

effectiveness provided.]

Eshetu, G.R., Dejene, T.A., Telila, L.B. and Bekele, D.F.

2015. Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants: preparation and

application methods by traditional healers in selected

districts of southern Ethiopia. Veterinary World 8(5):

674-684. [Including reference to the use of the root of

Osyris quadripartita for the treatment of mastitis in

livestock.]

*Estko, M., Baumgartner, S., Urech, K., Kunz, M.,

Regueiro, U., Heusser, P. and Weissenstein, U. 2015.

Tumour cell derived effects on monocyte/macrophage

polarization and function and modulatory potential of

Viscum album lipophilic extract in vitro. BMC

Complementary and Alternative Medicine 15(130).

(http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/15/130)

Evju, M., Stabbetorp, O.E. and Bratli, H. 2014. Salt

meadows in Østfold - area, ecological condition and red

listed species. Blyttia 72(4): 235-248. [Odontites vernus

among species referred to.]

Ezeaku, I.E., Angarawai, I.I., Aladele, S.E. and Mohammed,

S.G. 2015. Correlation, path coefficient analysis and

heritability of grain yield components in pearl millet

(Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) parental lines. Journal

of Plant Breeding and Crop Science 7(2): 55-60. [A

study of 24 parental lines of pearl millet A/B pairs

showed high to moderate broad-sense heritability; with

panicle length expressing the highest heritability

(78.95%), followed by grain yield (75.43%) and head

weight (73.30%). Response to Striga hermonthica

among the characters studied.]

Fan RongHua, Ding Wei, Ma YuYing, Lin HongLi, Men

Lei, Duan MengMeng, Zhao YunLi and Yu ZhiGuo.

2015. Development of a sensitive ultra high performance

liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

method for the simultaneous quantification of nine

active compounds in rat plasma and its application to a

pharmacokinetic study after administration of Viscum

coloratum extracts. Journal of Separation Science 38(3):

530-540.

Fawzy, G.A., Al-Taweel, A.M. and Perveen, S. 2014.

Anticancer activity of flavane gallates isolated from

Plicosepalus curviflorus. Pharmacognosy Magazine

10(39 (Suppl.)): 519-523. [The stems of P. curviflorus

are used traditionally for the treatment of cancer in

Yemen. Tests on human cancer cell lines MCF-7, HepG-

2, HCT-116, Hep-2 and HeLa confirm potential for

quercetin and one of the flavane gallates isolated from P.

curviflorus.]

Fujiwara, Y. and Ito, M. 2015. Synergistic effect of fragrant

herbs in Japanese scent sachets. Planta Medica 81(3):

193-199. [Oil of Santalum album showing sedative

effects, enhanced in mixture with 7 others.]

Furuhashi, T., Kojima, M., Sakakibara, H., Fukushima, A.,

Hirai, M.Y. and Furuhashi, K. 2014. Morphological and

plant hormonal changes during parasitization by Cuscuta

japonica on Momordica charantia. Journal of Plant

Interactions 9(1): 220-232. [Parasitized M. charantia

stems showed reduced photosynthetic activity while

histological observation revealed an increased number

of vascular bundles especially near the C. japonica

haustoria. The defensive response of the host mainly

involved the salicylic acid pathway. Drastic increase of

cytokinins in host stems would play an important role

for hypertrophy.]

Ganesan, S., Saraswathy, K. and Latha, R. 2014. Floristic

diversity and its conservation status in the selected

sacred groves of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Indian Journal of Tropical Biodiversity 22(1): 16-27.

[150 species recorded including Dendrophthoe falcata.]

Gathara, M., Makenzi, P., Kimondo, J. and Muturi, G.

2014. Prediction of Osyris lanceolata (Hochst. &

Steud.) site suitability using indicator plant species and

edaphic factors in humid highland and dry lowland

forests in Kenya. Journal of Horticulture and Forestry

6(11): 99-106. [Known as African sandalwood, O.

lanceolata has potential for commercial production in

Africa. This survey established a consistent association

with Rhus natalensis in highland forest. Hence the latter

could be used as an indicator of suitable sites for

plantations.]

Ghorbani, A. and Hosseini, A. 2015. Cancer therapy with

phytochemicals: evidence from clinical studies.

Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine (AJP) 5(2): 84-97.

[A literature review confirming that Viscum album has

satisfactory instances of clinical evidence for supporting

its anticancer effects.]

Gibot-Leclerc, S., Reibel, C., le Corre, V. and Dessaint, F.

2015. Unexpected fast development of branched

broomrape on slow-growing Brassicaceae. Agronomy

for Sustainable Development 35(1): 151-156. [Pot

experiments showed that Phelipanche ramosa

developed faster on the relatively slow-growing

Capsella bursa-pastoris, C. rubella, Cardamine hirsuta,

Lepidium campestre, L. draba and Sinapis arvensis than

on the fast-growing Arabidopsis thaliana.]

Ginman, E., Prider, J., Matthews, J., Virtue, J. and Watling,

J. 2015. Sheep as vectors for branched broomrape

(Orobanche ramosa subsp. mutelii [F.W. Schultz]

Cout.) seed dispersal. Weed Biology and Management

15(2): 61-69. [Confirming that 7 days is a suitable

quarantine period to allow loss of seed from attachment

to the fleece or loss of viability following ingestion.]

Girija, T., Vijaya, V.C. and Abraham, C.T., 2013.

Comparison of competitiveness of tree parasites,

Dendrophthoe falcata, Helicanthus elastica and

Macrosolen capitellatum by oxygen isotope

discrimination and nutrient analysis. In: Bakar, B.H.,

Kurniadie, D. and Tjitrosoedirdjo, S. (eds) The role of

weed science in supporting food security by 2020.

Proceedings of the 24th Asian-Pacific Weed Science

Society Conference, Bandung, Indonesia, October 22-

25, 2013: 253-257. [Studies on D. falcata, H. elastica

and M. capitellatum in India indicate higher

transpiration rates and accumulation of K, Ca and N in

D. falcata than in the other 2 species, suggesting it may

have a more damaging effect on its hosts.]

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

*González, C., Harvey, N. and Ornelas, J.F. 2015.

Development and characterization of microsatellite loci

in the mistletoe Psittacanthus schiedeanus

(Loranthaceae). Applications in Plant Sciences 3(1):

1400099.

(http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3732/apps.1400099)

[120 alleles were recorded across 39 individuals from

four populations P. schiedeanus, a common mistletoe

species on cloud forest-adapted tree hosts in Mexico.

Loci described will be useful in studies of genetic

diversity and genetic population differentiation in

natural populations and will provide valuable

information regarding host distribution.]

Guchetl, S.Z., Antonova, T.S. and Tchelustnikova, T.A.

2014. Genetic similarity and differences between the

Orobanche cumana Wallr. populations from Russia,

Kazakhstan, and Romania revealed using the markers of

simple sequence repeat. Russian Agricultural Sciences

40(5): 326-330. [Nineteen samples of O. cumana from

Russia and Kazakhstan clustered in one gene pool while

a second cluster consisted of 5 populations from

Romania, all regardless of racial composition.]

*Gulati, V., Gulati, P., Harding, I.H. and Palombo, E.A.

2015. Exploring the anti-diabetic potential of Australian

Aboriginal and Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts using

cell-based assays. BMC Complementary and Alternative

Medicine 15: 8pp.

(http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/15/8 )

[Santalum spicatum and S. lanceolatum among plants

showing anti-diabetic activity.]

Gwatidzo, C., Masamba, W.R.L., Mubyana-John, T.,

Oldeland, J., Erb, C., Finckh, M. and Jürgens, N. 2013.

Variations in soil physicochemical characteristics in

some soil profiles of Okavango Delta's Pan-handle

region, Botswana. Biodiversity and Ecology 5: 303-310.

[Including the observation that Ca was relatively high in

soils under Ximenia americana.]

Halidu, J., Abubakar, L., Izge, U.A., Ado, S.G., Yakubu, H.

and Haliru, B.S. 2015. Correlation analysis for maize

grain yield, other agronomic parameters and Striga

affected traits under Striga infested/free environment.

Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science 7(1): 9-17.

[Relating to studies with S. hermonthica in Nigeria.]

Hargreaves, A.L., Weiner, J.L. and Eckert, C.G. 2015.

High-elevation range limit of an annual herb is neither

caused nor reinforced by declining pollinator service.

Journal of Ecology (Oxford) 103(3): 572-584. [Finding

no evidence for pollination failure towards the upper

range limit of Rhinanthus minor. Moreover, unlike

some species with a capacity for autogamy, autonomous

selfing makes a major contribution to R. minor's mating

system and demography, and likely buffers reproductive

success from stochasticity in pollination.]

Hassan, M.M., Osman, A.G., Rugheim, A.M.E., Ali, A.I.,

Abdelgani, M.E. and Babiker, A.G.T. 2015. Effects of

bacterial isolates and strains on Phelipanche ramosa (L.)

Pomel haustorium initiation. International Journal of

Biosciences (IJB) 6(2): 296-303. [Fifteen bacteria

including 9 organic nitrogen users 6 mineral nitrogen

users) and 3 bacterial strains (Bacillus circulans, B.

megatherium var. phosphaticum and Azospirillum

brasiliense all caused significant reduction in haustoria,

the most active being Serratia odorifera and Rhizobium

radiobacter, reducing haustorial initiation by 45%.]

Havyarimana, F., Bogaert, J., Ndayishimiye, J., Barima,

S.S.Y., Bigendako, M.J., Lejoly, J. and de Cannière, C.

2013. (Impact of the spatial structure of Strombosia

scheffleri Engl. and Xymalos monospora (Harv.) Baill.

on natural regeneration and coexistence of tree species

in the Bururi Forest Nature Reserve in Burundi.) (in

French) Bois et Forêts des Tropiques 316: 49-61.

[Including observations on Strombosia scheffleri

(Olacaceae)]

He MengYin and Fan FuYuan. 2015. (Adjunctive treatment

of axial undifferentiated spondyloarthritis by Qiangji

Recipe: a clinical study.) (in Chinese) Chinese Journal

of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine 35(1):

37-40. [Taxillus chinensis is just one of the components

of Chinese herbal remedy ‘QR’ – the others being

‘Herba Epimedii, antler glue, Cibotium Barometz,

eucommia bark, dipsacus asper, two toothed

achyranthes root, drynaria, ground beetle, scorpion, wild

celery, notopterygium incisium, cow-fat seed, white

mustard seed, and licorice root’. (NB. No eye of newt or

toe of frog). The concoction showed useful results in

adjunctive treatment of axial undifferentiated

spondyloarthritis.]

Hejcmanová, P., Hejcman, M., Stejskalová, M. and Pavlů,

V. 2014. (Livestock winter feeding in prehistory: role of

browse leaves, annual twigs of woody plants, senescent

grasses, Hedera helix and Viscum album.) (in French)

In: Baumont, R. et al. (eds) Options Méditerranéennes.

Série A, Séminaires Méditerranéens 109: 79-82.

[Concluding that V. album foliage has high nutritive

value and was probably utilised for livestock feed in

prehistory.]

Hobbhahn, N. and Johnson, S.D. 2015. Sunbird pollination

of the dioecious root parasite Cytinus sanguineus

(Cytinaceae). South African Journal of Botany 99: 138-

143. [Confirming that, unexpectedly, the flowers of C.

sanguineus, which are close to the ground under other

vegetation are pollinated by sunbirds, as the floral

structure and colour would suggest. Other species of

Cytinus are pollinated by rodents or by ants. In South

Africa.]

Houngbedji, T., Pocanam, Y., Shykoff, J., Nicolardot, B.

and Gibot-Leclerc, S. 2014. (A new major parasitic

plant in rice in Togo: Rhamphicarpa fistulosa.) (in

French) Cahiers Agricultures 23(6): 357-365. [R.

fistulosa was found in 80% of the 33 lowlands visited in

Togo causing serious yield loss. Farmers use hand

weeding and apply chemical fertilizers but always at

sub-optimal rates. Heavy infestation levels lead to the

abandonment of plots.]

Hruševar, D., Mitic´, B., Sandev, D. and Alegro, A. 2014.

New records of vascular plants on the Mt Medvednica.

Natura Croatica 23(2): 275-286. [Including Orobanche

gracilis.]

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Huish, R.D., Manow, M. and McMullen, C.K. 2015. Floral

phenology and sex ratio of piratebush (Buckleya

distichophylla), a rare dioecious shrub endemic to the

Southern Appalachian Mountains. Castanea 80(1): 1-7.

[Results on B. distichophylla (Santalaceae) show a male-

biased sex ratio (61:39) of flowering individuals, with

15% nonflowering.]

Ibrahim, A., Ahom, R.I., Magani, I.E. and Musa, M.I. 2014.

Spatial distribution and density of Striga hermonthica

(Del.) Benth infestation associated with cereal

production in Southern Guinea Savanna farming

systems. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental

Sciences (JBES) 5(4): 419-427. [In Benue and Nasarawa

states in southern Nigeria, 67% of the surveyed area was

infested with a high density of S. hermonthica, mainly in

sorghum, less in pearl millet. 40% of the farmers

reported that new Striga control coping strategies, are

received from extension agents, during Monthly

Technology Review Meetings.]

Ifie, B.E., Badu-Apraku, B., Gracen, V. and Danquah, E.Y.

2015. Genetic analysis of grain yield of IITA and

CIMMYT early-maturing maize inbreds under Striga-

infested and low-soil-nitrogen environments. Crop

Science 55(2): 610-623. [Identifying lines with

combined resistance or tolerance to S. hermonthica as

well as low-N. Hybrids ENT 11 × TZEI 4 and TZEI 65

× ENT 11 were identified as the most stable and high-

yielding.]

*Ikeue, D., Schudoma, C., Zhang WenNa, Ogata, Y.,

Sakamoto, T., Kurata, T., Furuhashi, T., Kragler, F. and

Aoki, K. 2015. A bioinformatics approach to distinguish

plant parasite and host transcriptomes in interface tissue

by classifying RNA-Seq reads. Plant Methods 11(34)

16pp.

(http://www.plantmethods.com/content/pdf/s13007-015-

0066-6.pdf) [This paper described genomics studies of

gene expression in Cuscuta. The host and the parasite

form new cellular connections, suggesting coordination

of developmental and biochemical processes. RNA-Seq

reads were done from an interface region between C.

japonica and host Impatiens balsamina. Sequencing

reads were classified as either belonging to the host or to

the parasite. Analysis of gene expression profiles at 5

parasitizing stages revealed differentially expressed

genes from both parasitic plant and a host-model, and

uncovered some of the coordination of cellular processes

between the two plants. ]

Ito, S. 2014. Development of strigolactone function

regulators. Journal of Pesticide Science 39(3/4): 170-

171. [Describing a novel triazole derivative TIS108,

with potent activity, reducing strigolactone levels in

planta and inducing strigolactone biosynthetic mutant-

like morphology in Arabidopsis.]

*Ito, S. and 12 others. 2015. Strigolactone regulates

anthocyanin accumulation, acid phosphatases production

and plant growth under low phosphate condition in

Arabidopsis. PLoS ONE 10(3) e0119724.

(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jour

nal.pone.0119724) [Showing that the typical phosphate

starvation responses in Arabidopsis are partially

dependent on the strigolactone signaling pathway,

suggesting a potential overlap between strigolactone

signaling and phosphate starvation signaling pathways

in plants.]

Itta, C.Z., Magani, E.I. and Ahom, R.I. 2014. Effectiveness

of Parkia (Parkia biglobosa) products for the control of

Striga genesrioides in the Southern Guinea Savanah.

Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences

(JBES) 5(3): 36-51. [Parkia fruit powder reduced S.

gesnerioides by about 50% but did not significantly

increase yields of susceptible cowpea varieties which

failed to match the performance of Striga-resistant

varieties IT97K-499-35, IT98K-573-1-1, IT03K-338-1,

IT98K-205-8 and UAM11D-24-55-3.]

Jamil, A.W.M. and Omar, M.K.M. 2015. Strength and

stiffness of remnants of fractured timber. Journal of

Tropical Forest Science 27(1): 115-126. [Scorodocarpus

borneensis (Olacaceae) one of two hardwoods studied.]

Ji YanBin, Zhang FengDong, Sun XueLiang, Sun

MengMeng, Wei JunLi, You HongZheng and Chen

ChengXun. 2015. (Effect of Siphonostegia and

Eucommia ulmoides on the growth and health indicators

of Eriocheir sinensis.) (in Chinese) Journal of Economic

Animal 19(1): 34-40. [Siphonostegia (unspecified)

shown to improve the antioxidant capacity and

immunity of the Chinese mitten crab.]

Jiang Ying, Wang Chi, Li YingYing, Wang XueCong, An

JianDuo, Wang YunJiao and Wang XueJiang. 2014.

Mistletoe alkaloid fractions alleviates carbon

tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis through inhibition of

hepatic stellate cell activation via TGF-β/Smad

interference. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 158(Part

A): 230-238. [Results suggest that the alkaloid fraction

from Viscum coloratum may have potential as a

therapeutic agent for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.]

Joshi, R.K., Joshi, B.C. and Sati, M.K. 2014. Chemical and

chemotaxonomic aspects of some aromatic and

medicinal plants species from Utrrakhand: a review.

Asian Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 4(3): 157-

162. [A review including reference to Santalum spp.]

Kabiri, S., Rodenburg, J., Kayeke, J., van Ast, A.,

Makokha, D.W., Msangi, S.H., Irakiza, R. and

Bastiaans, L. 2015. Can the parasitic weeds Striga

asiatica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa co-occur in rain-

fed rice? Weed Research (Oxford) 55(2): 145-154. [The

two species overlap in a region of southern Tanzania,

but careful survey over the area, backed up by lot

experiments confirm that while S. asiatica is favoured

by free draining soils where non-parasitic indicator

species include Pennisetum polystachion,. Rottboellia

cochinchinensis and Mitracarpus hirtus, R. fistulosa is

favoured by waterlogged soils associated with Ammania

auriculata, Cyperus distans, Fimbristylis littoralis and

Oryza longistaminata. Hence different management

strategies are required.]

*Kaiser, B., Vogg, G., Fürst, U.B. and Albert, M. 2015.

Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta and their

interaction with susceptible and resistant host plants.

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Frontiers in Plant Science 6(February): 45 pp.

(http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.201

5.00045/full) [A detailed review of the interactions of

Cuscuta spp. with their hosts with particular

reference to the resistance of tomato to C. reflexa

when epidermal tomato cells elongate and die

following a hypersensitive-type response, but noting

that similar reactions occur when C. pentagona is

involved, without preventing infection.]

Kaitera, J., Hiltunen, R. and Hantula, J. 2015. Cronartium

rust sporulation on hemiparasitic plants. Plant Pathology

64(3): 738-747. [Confirming sporulation of C. flaccidum

on Euphrasia, Castilleja, Pedicularis and Rhinanthus

spp.]

Kalinowski, P. 2014. (Rare vascular plants of the Podlasie

Nadbużan´skie region (eastern Poland) - Part 3.

Synanthropic plants.) (in Polish) Fragmenta Floristica et

Geobotanica Polonica 21(2): 253-273. [A first ‘reliable’

report of Thesium arvense for Poland.]

Kannan, C., Aditi, P. and Zwanenburg, B. 2015

Quenching the action of germination stimulants

using borax and thiourea, a new method for

controlling parasitic weeds: a proof of concept. Crop

Protection 70: 92-98. [Providing encouraging results

on the possibility of destroying strigolactones in the

soil, using borax and/or thiourea (see previous paper

noted in Haustorium 65). Exposure of tomato roots to

5 mM concentrations of either compound caused no

toxicity, while solutions of 1 mM of either prevented

germination of Orobanche crenata adjacent to the

tomato roots. Note that the abstract refers to

‘phototoxic’ rather than ‘phytotoxic’ effects, and the

authors have asked to point out that in the structure

of Nijmegen-1: the carbonyl in the ring next to the

aromatic ring is missing.]

Kannan, C., Kumar, B., Aditi, P. and Gharde, Y. 2014.

Effect of native Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas

fluorescens on the development of Cuscuta campestris

on chickpea, Cicer arietinum. Journal of Applied and

Natural Science 6(2): 844-851. [C. campestris is a

serious parasite of chickpea in India, reducing yields by

up to 85%. Trichoderma viride. and Pseudomonas

fluorescens used as seed treatments and foliar sprays

increased production of defense enzymes in chickpea

and thus delayed the development and flowering of C.

campestris.]

Kaya, Y. 2014. Sunflower production in Balkan region:

current situation and future prospects. Agriculture

and Forestry 60(4): 95-101. [A comprehensive review

of sunflower production in the Balkans and Turkey.

Sunflower production is increasing in the region due

to higher demand for oil crops. Turkey is the main

importer in the region while other countries such as

Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Serbia are among

the main exporters in the world. Including discussion

of Orobanche cumana and its control and noting that

genetically herbicide resistant varieties and post-

emergence application of imidazolinone herbicides

controlling both O. cumana and the main broad

leaved weeds, is increasing.]

Khadda, B.S., Kanak Lata, Raj Kumar, Jadav, J.K. and Rai,

A.K. 2015. Performance of lucerne (Medicago sativa)

under semi-arid ecosystem of Central Gujarat. Indian

Journal of Agricultural Sciences 85(2): 199-202.

[Cuscuta (presumably C. campestris) among factors

reducing lucerne productivity in the region.]

Kidane, B., van der Maesen, L.J.G., van Andel, T., Asfaw,

Z. and Sosef, M.S.M. 2014. Ethnobotany of wild and

semi-wild edible fruit species used by Maale and Ari

ethnic communities in southern Ethiopia.,Ethnobotany

Research and Applications 12: 455-471. [Ximenia caffra

among the most-traded fruits in this region.]

*Kim KiWook, Yang SeungHoon and Kim JongBae. 2014.

Protein fractions from Korean mistletoe (Viscum album

coloratum) extract induce insulin secretion from

pancreatic beta cells. Evidence-based Complementary

and Alternative Medicine 2014: Article ID 703624.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/703624/)

[Results suggest that V. coloratum could have use as a

medicinal reagent to reduce blood glucose level in type I

diabetic patients.]

Kim SoKho, Lee DongHo, Kim JaeKyung, Kim JaeHun,

Park JongHeum, Lee JuWoon and Kwon JungKee.

2014. Viscothionin isolated from Korean mistletoe

improves nonalcoholic fatty liver disease via the

activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated

protein kinase. Journal of Agricultural and Food

Chemistry 62(49): 11876-11883. [Viscothionin, isolated

from Viscum coloratum was shown to have potential for

nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).]

Kim YoungJik. 2014. (Effects of dietary supplementation of

red ginseng mare and Korean mistletoe powder on

performance and meat quality of broiler chicken.) (in

Korean) Korean Journal of Poultry Science 41(3): 197-

204. [Addition of 0.5% powder based on Viscum

coloratum did not affect meat production in chickens

but revealed minor improvements in lipid oxidative

stability.]

Kim, Y.J. and Choi, I.H.. 2014. Comparison of the effects

of supplemental Korean mistletoe (Viscum album var.

coloratum) powder and antibiotic on growth

performance, serum cholesterol profiles, and meat

quality of broilers. Acta Agriculturæ Scandinavica.

Section A, Animal Science 64(3): 154-160. [Addition of

V. album var. coloratum (= V. coloratum) at 1-2% of

poultry diet had a beneficial influence via improved

antioxidant effects.]

Koffi, A.A., Kouassi, F.A., N'Goran, S.B.K. and Soro, D.

2014. (The Loranthaceae, parasites of trees and shrubs:

the case of Katiola Department, in the north of Côte

d'Ivoire.) (in French) International Journal of Biological

and Chemical Sciences 8(6): 2552-2559. [A survey

detected just 2 species of Loranthaceae - Agelanthus

dodoneifolius and Tapinanthus bangwensis. These

occurred in 3-6% of wild trees but were not recorded in

crop species.]

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

*Konaté, K., Yomalan, K., Sytar, O., Zerbo, P., Brestic, M.,

Patrick, V.D., Gagniuc, P. and Barro, N. 2014. Free

radicals scavenging capacity, antidiabetic and

antihypertensive activities of flavonoid-rich fractions

from leaves of Trichilia emetica and Opilia amentacea

in an animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative

Medicine 2014: Article ID 867075.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/867075/)

[O. amentacea showed in vitro and in vivo antioxidant

and antihypertensive potential and antilipidemia and

antihyperglycemia activities in an animal model of type

2 diabetes mellitus, though the results were less

pronounced than those for T. emetica (Meliaceae).]

Korkotian, E., Botalova, A., Odegova, T., Galishevskaya,

E., Skryabina, E. and Segal, M. 2015. Complex effects

of aqueous extract of Melampyrum pratense and of its

flavonoids on activity of primary cultured hippocampal

neurons. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 163: 220-228.

[M. pratense is widely used in traditional medicine as a

sedative. Studies with rat hippocampal neurons suggest

that a main sedative effect is on GABAergic

neurotransmission, i.e. via γ-aminobutyric acid, the chief

inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central

nervous system.]

Korkut, Ö. and Erentürk, S. 2015. Improving oxidation

stability of sunflower biodiesel by partial hydrogenation

using a special catalyst. Biofuels, Bioproducts &

Biorefining, 9(3): 326-334. [Describing a procedure

involving activated carbon made from Viscum album.]

Kouakou, C.K., Akanvou, L., Bi, I.A.Z., Akanvou, R. and

N'da, H.A. 2015. (Striga species distribution and

infestation in cereal food crops of northern Côte

d'Ivoire.) (in French) Cahiers Agricultures 24(1): 37-46.

[A useful but alarming survey of Striga occurrence in

Côte d’Ivoire suggesting that that there is increasing

occurrence in the south of the country. A zone covering

over 3M ha is now infested. Within this zone, 72% of

villages and 57% of cereal crops are affected , mainly by

S. hermonthica (97%) with lesser occurrence of S.

aspera (2%) and S. asiatica (1%, including some red-

flowered in rice). S. gesnerioides is not reported in

cowpea. S. hermonthica severely infested maize

(108,160 ha), millet (38,300 ha), sorghum (30,360 ha)

and upland rice (91,430 ha). The infestation rates under

millet, maize, sorghum and upland rice were 65.9%,

56.5%, 51.0%and 40.5% respectively.]

Kouassi, K., N'dah, K.J., Boyvin, L., Méité, S., Yapo, A.F.

and N'guessan, J.D. 2015. Hepatoprotective and in vivo

antioxidant activity of Olax subscorpioidea Oliv.

(Olacaceae) and Distemonathus benthamianus Baill.

(Caesalpiniaceae). Pharmacognosy Magazine 11(41):

111-116. [O. subscorpioidea is used in traditional

medicine in Côte d'Ivoire for the treatment of many

diseases including jaundice and hepatitis. Results

confirm hepatoprotective and in vivo antioxidant activity

in rats.]

Krause K. 2015. Grand-scale theft: Kleptoplasty in parasitic

plants? Trends in Plant Science 20:196-198. [Based on

experimental data from photosynthetic model plants, the

author speculates about the possibility that Rafflesia has

sequestered whole plastids from its host.]

Krechowski, J., Piórek, K., Falkowski, M. and Wierzba, M.

2015. (Vegetation of the 'Mierzwice' nature reserve and

its protection.) (in Polish) Leśne Prace Badawcze 76(2):

168-179. [Noting the presence of the protected species

Thesium ebracteatum.]

Kudra, A., Chemining’wa, G.A. and Onwonga, R.N. 2014.

Relationships between agronomic practices, soil

chemical characteristics and Striga reproduction in

dryland areas of Tanzania. Jouirnal of Agricultural

Sciences and Technology 2: 1134-1141. [Apparently

some indication that increased potassium levels

increased Striga infestation, but not clear what species

of Striga involved, nor in which crop it was occurring.

In view of the following, presumably S. asiatica in

sorghum.]

Kudra, A., Chemining’wa, G.A.,Onwonga, R.N. and

Sibuga, K.P. 2014. Influence of fertilizers on Striga

asiatica reproduction and sorghum grain yield in

Dodoma, Tanzania. East African Agriculture and

Forestry Journal 80(3): 149-156. [Confirming that

application of farmyard manure, chicken manure, urea

or triple superphosphate each reduced S. asiatica seed

production while sorghum yield was significantly

increased by chicken manure 2.5 t/ha.]

Kudra, A., Chemining’wa, G.A. and Sibuga K.P. 2014.

Striga asiatica growth and seed production in response

to organic and inorganic P-fertilizers. Access

International Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2(1): 6-

12. [Apparently the same work as above.]

Kuijt, J. 2015. Santalales. Pages 1-189 in Kubitzki, K, ed.

The families and genera of vascular plants. XII

Flowering plants: eudicots Santalales, Balanophorales,

vol. 12. Cham Switzerland: Springer International

Publishing. [A review of many aspects of the largest

order of parasites, including information on their

morphology, anatomy, fruits, seeds, seedlings,

germination, parasitism, ethnobotany, and the author’s

own view on their classification. The section on

chemosystematics was written by K. Kubitzki;

Balanophoraceae by B. Hansen and K. Kubitzki.]

Kuijt J. 2015. New synonyms and comments on

Phoradendron (Viscaceae). Phytologia 97(3):246-251.

[Four previously published species are considered

synonyms of P. bolleanum and five other names were

synonymized. An amended description, illustration, and

neotype are provided for P. calvinii Wiens.]

Külheim, C., Jones, C.G., Plummer, J.A., Ghisalberti, E.L.,

Barbour, L. and Bohlmann, J. 2014. Foliar application

of methyl jasmonate does not increase terpenoid

accumulation, but weakly elicits terpenoid pathway

genes in sandalwood (Santalum album L.) seedlings.

Plant Biotechnology 31(5): 585-591.

Kullačová, D. and Matúšová, R. 2015.Establishment of

Phelipanche ramosa tissue culture and effect of

kanamycin on culture growth. Journal of Microbiology,

Biotechnology and Food Sciences 4(Special Issue 2):

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

63-65. [In this study in vitro cultures of P. ramosa were

established on solid and liquid media in parallel. Results

point out that development of P. ramosa calli was origin

specific. The effect of antibiotic kanamycin on in vitro

cultures of P. ramosa was examined with the aim to

develop system for its genetic manipulation and

selection of transgenic tissue using kanamycin-

resistance approach. The selection pressure of

kanamycin was stronger in liquid grown cultures.]

Lachia, M., Wolf, H.C., Jung, P.J.M., Screpanti, C. and de

Mesmaeker, A. 2015. Strigolactam: new potent

strigolactone analogues for the germination of

Orobanche cumana. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry

Letters 25(10): 2184-2188. [Decribing the synthesis of

strigolactams 1 and 16 and their ‘surprisingly good

activity’ on the germination of Orobanche cumana

(Structures available on

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09608

94X15002620

Larsen, B.H.V., Soelberg, J. and Jäger, A.K. 2015. COX-1

inhibitory effect of medicinal plants of Ghana. South

African Journal of Botany 99: 129-131. [Extracts of

Thonningia sanguinea (Balanophoraceae) showed over

90% inhibition of COX-1 activity at 0.1 µg/µL lending

support to its use the traditional medicine system in

Ghana.]

Lechat, M-M., Brun, G., Montiel, G., Véronési, C., Simier,

P., Thoiron, S., Pouvreau, J-B. and Delavault, P. 2015.

Seed response to strigolactone is controlled by abscisic

acid-independent DNA methylation in the obligate root

parasitic plant, Phelipanche ramosa L. Pomel. Journal of

Experimental Botany 66(11): 3129-3140. [Seed

dormancy release of the obligate root parasitic plant, P.

ramosa, requires a minimum 4-day conditioning period

followed by stimulation by host-derived germination

stimulants, such as strigolactones. Germination is then

mediated by germination stimulant-dependent activation

of PrCYP707A1, an abscisic acid catabolic gene. The

molecular mechanisms occurring during the

conditioning period that silence PrCYP707A1 expression

and regulate germination stimulant response are almost

unknown. Here it is shown that the DNA methylation

status during the conditioning period plays a crucial role

independently of abscisic acid in the regulation of P.

ramosa seed germination by controlling the

strigolactone-dependent expression of PrCYP707A1.]

Lepší, M. and Lepší, P. 2014. (Records of interesting and

new plants in the South Bohemian flora XX.) (in Czech)

Sborník Jihočeského Muzea v Českých Budějovicích,

Přírodní Vědy 54: 101-121. [Reporting new localities for

Viscum album subsp. album.]

Li HaiZhen, Hou Zhun, Li Chao, Zhang Yao, Shen Tao, Hu

QingWen and Ren DongMei. 2015. Three pairs of

diastereoisomeric flavanone glycosides from Viscum

articulatum. Fitoterapia 102: 156-162.

Li HongWu, Zhu Hui, Zhang ChongHai, Zhu WenYuan and

Xia MingYu. 2014. (The effect of Paeonia veitchii

Lynch and Cuscuta chinensis Lam extract on tyrosinase

activity and expression of mRNA in guinea pig

melanocytes.) (in Chinese) Chinese Journal of

Dermatovenereology 28(12): 1216-1219. [Concluding

that an ethanol extract of C. chinensis can up-regulate

melanocyte tyrosinase activity and mRNA expression,

and then induce the generation of cutaneous melanin,

thus showing potential for treating pigmental disorders

such as vitiligo.]

Li ZhenHua, Long Ping, Bai Sarula, Yang DaWei, Zhu

Hong, Cui ZhanHu, Zhang ChunHong and Li MinHui.

2014. Chemical constituents from Cymbaria dahurica

L. (Scrophulariaceae). Biochemical Systematics and

Ecology 57: 11-14. [Sixteen compounds, including 12

flavonoids and 4 iridoids, were extracted from the

hemiparasite Cymbaria dahurica (now in

Orobanchaceae).]

Lira-Noriega, A., Toro-Núñez, O., Oaks, J.R. and Mort,

M.E. 2015. The roles of history and ecology in

chloroplast phylogeographic patterns of the bird-

dispersed plant parasite Phoradendron californicum

(Viscaceae) in the Sonoran DesertAmerican Journal of

Botany 102(1): 149-164. [Variation in noncoding

cpDNA across the species range results from the

interplay of vicariant events, past climatic oscillations,

and more dynamic factors related to ecological

processes at finer temporal and spatial scales.]

Liu Gang, Li YaHuan, Guo Rong, Li ZhengYang and

Zhang HongMei 2014. (Optimization of extraction

technology of ursolic acid from Cynomorium

songaricum Rupr. with response surface method.) (in

Chinese) Journal of Jilin Agricultural University 36(6):

723-729. [Describing an extraction rate giving over

97%.]

Liu, J., He, H., Vitali, M., Visentin, I., Charnikhova, T.,

Haider, I., Schubert, A., Ruyter-Spira, C., Bouwmeester,

H.J., Lovisolo, C. and Cardinale, F. 2015. Osmotic

stress represses strigolactone biosynthesis in Lotus

japonicus roots: exploring the interaction between

strigolactones and ABA under abiotic stress. Planta

241(6): 1435-1451. [In L. japonicus, SL-depleted plants

showed increased stomatal conductance, both under

normal and stress conditions, and impaired resistance to

drought associated with slower stomatal closure in

response to abscisic acid (ABA). This confirms that SLs

contribute to drought resistance in species other than

Arabidopsis. However, osmotic stress rapidly and

strongly decreased SL concentration in tissues and

exudates of wild-type Lotus roots, by acting on the

transcription of biosynthetic and transporter-encoding

genes and independently of phosphate abundance. It was

proposed that a transcriptionally regulated, early SL

decrease under osmotic stress is needed (but not

sufficient) to allow the physiological increase of ABA in

roots. This work shows that SL metabolism and effects

on ABA are seemingly opposite in roots and shoots

under stress.]

Liu QuanYu, Wang Fei, Zhang Lei, Xie JieMing, Li Peng

and Zhang YongHong. 2015. A hydroxylated lupeol-

based triterpenoid ester isolated from the Scurrula

parasitica parasitic on Nerium indicum. Helvetica

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Chimica Acta 98(5): 627-632. [A range of compounds

were isolated from S. parasitica, six of which showed

activity against cancer cell lines, PANC-1, HL-60, and

SGC-7901, Activity apparently depended on the 3-OH

group in lupeol-based triterpenoids.]

Liu Xing, Li XiaoHong, Wang Yan and Zou CongCong.

2014. (Effect of Cuscuta chinensis Lam medicated

serum on rat embryo limb bud cells and expressions of

BMP-2 and collagen II.) (in Chinese) Journal of

Shandong University (Health Sciences) 52(7): 37-40.

Liu Yang, Xiu XiaoYou and Wang WeiYun 2015.

(Optimization of phenylethyl alcohol glycosides

extraction process from Cistanche tubulosa by response

surface analysis (RSA).) (in Chinese) Journal of Anhui

Agricultural University 42(2): 294-298. [Microwave

extraction method showed the highest yield of

phenylethyl alcohol glycosides in the shortest time,

followed by the ultrasonic extraction method. The

ethanol extraction method showed the lowest

efficiency.]

Lone, Z.A., Yaqoob Lone, Khan, S.S., Wani, A.A. and

Reshi, M.I. 2015. Hepatoprotective medicinal plants

used by the Gond and Bhill tribals of district Raisen

Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Medicinal Plants

Research 9(12): 400-406. [‘Important species for the

alleviation of hepatic disorders’ in this district include

Cuscuta reflexa.]

Lucero, F., Botto-Mahan, C., Medel, R., and Fontúrbel, F.E.

2014. New insights on the mistletoe Tristerix aphyllus

(Loranthaceae): interaction with diurnal and nocturnal

frugivorous species. Gayana Botánica 71(2): 270-272.

[Most visitors to T. aphyllus on its cactus host

Echinopsis chiloensis were 5 species of diurnal birds

especially Mimus thenca. Two small nocturnal mammals

were also recorded, and the marsupial Thylamys elegans.

Only M. thenca is a certain disperser.]

Ma, J., Pawar, R.S., Grundel, E., Mazzola, E.P., Ridge,

C.D., Masaoka, T., le Grice, S.F.J., Wilson, J., Beutler,

J.A. and Krynitsky, A.J. 2015. Sesquiterpenoid

tropolone glycosides from Liriosma ovata. Journal of

Natural Products 78(2): 315-319. [Two new compounds

identified in L. ovata (Olacaceae).]

Ma YongQing, Zhang Meng, Li YaoLin, Shui JunFeng and

Zhou YongJun. 2014. Allelopathy of rice (Oryza sativa

L.) root exudates and its relations with Orobanche

cumana Wallr. and Orobanche minor Sm. germination.

Journal of Plant Interactions 9(1): 722-730.

[Demonstrating a correlation between the allelopathic

effects of rice varieties and the stimulating effects of the

root exudates on germination of O. cumana and O.

minor, suggesting an Orobanche-germinating assay as a

useful screening tool for selection of allelopathic rice

varieties.]

Ma YueFeng, Guo ChengLin, Ma YongLin, Qin JianLin, Lu

RongSheng, Du XiaoLi, Huang XuGuang, Luo EnBo,

Lu Qian, Li Gang, Wei LuYi and Yang SiXia. 2014.

(Investigation and analysis on garden dodder damage

situation in Guangxi.) (in Chinese) Journal of Southern

Agriculture 45(12): 2001-2006. [In a survey of 16 cities

Cuscuta chinensis, C. japonica, C. reflexa and Cassytha

filiformis were recorded on 62 hosts. C. japonica was

the predominant problem.]

*Maikai, V.A., Maikai, B.V. and Kobo, P.I. 2014. In vitro

effect of aqueous extract and fraction IV portion of

Ximenia americana stem bark on Trypanosoma

congolense DNA. Journal of Parasitology Research

2014: Article ID 904318.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jpr/2014/904318/)

[Confirming 55 and 90% immobilisation of T.

congolense, by aqueous and ‘IV’ fractions (not defined)

respectively from X. americana.]

Makumbi, D., Diallo, A., Kanampiu, F., Mugo, S. and

Karaya, H. 2015. Agronomic performance and genotype

× environment interaction of herbicide-resistant maize

varieties in eastern Africa. Crop Science 55(2): 540-555.

[In trials involving both Striga hermonthica and S.

asiatica the best IR (imidazolinone-resistant) maize

variety, STR-VE-216, with herbicide seed-dressing out-

yielded the Striga-tolerant and commercial genotypes by

113 and 89%, respectively, under Striga-infested

conditions. Genotype × environment interactions were

generally low.]

Manickavasagam, S. and Rameshkumar, A. 2013. Four new

species of Gonatocerus Nees (Hymenoptera:

Mymaridae) and a key to the species of asulcifrons

group from India. Oriental Insects 47(1): 86-98.

[Apparently occurring on Santalum spp.]

Manoj Kumar, Pandya-Kumar, N., Dam, A., Haor, H.,

Mayzlish-Gati, E., Belausov, E., Wininger, S., Abu-

Abied, M., McErlean, C.S.P., Bromhead, L.J., Prandi,

C., Kapulnik, Y. and Koltai, H. 2015. Arabidopsis

response to low-phosphate conditions includes active

changes in actin filaments and PIN2 polarization and is

dependent on strigolactone signalling. Journal of

Experimental Botany 66(5): 1499-1510. [PIN2

expression, PIN2 plasma membrane localization,

endosome trafficking, and actin bundling were

examined under low-Pi conditions: a MAX2-dependent

reduction in PIN2 trafficking and polarization in the

PM, reduced endosome trafficking, and increased actin-

filament bundling were detected in root cells.

Exogenous supplementation of the synthetic SL GR24

to a SL-deficient mutant (max4) led to depletion of

PIN2 from the PM under low-Pi conditions. It was

suggested that changes in PIN2 polarity, actin bundling,

and vesicle trafficking are involved in the response to

low Pi in roots, dependent on SL/MAX2 signaling.]

Maranho, Á.S. and de Paula, S.R.P. 2014. (Diversity in an

urban green area: qualitative evaluation of urban forest

of the Federal University of Acre campus, Brasil.) (in

Portuguese) Agro@mbiente On-line 8(3): 404-415.

[Noting that Oryctanthus florulentus and Phthirusa

stelis were frequent parasites in city trees, the latter

predominant, occurring in 27% of the surveyed trees,

Caesalpinia peltophoroides being the most frequent host

followed by Mangifera indica and Terminalia catappa.]

Marenco, R.A., Nascimento, H.C.S. and Magalhães, N.S.

2014. Stomatal conductance in Amazonian tree saplings

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

in response to variations in the physical environment.

Photosynthetica 52(4): 493-500. [Minquartia guianensis

(Olacaceae) among species studied.]

Marias, D.E., Meinzer, F.C., Woodruff, D.R., Shaw, D.C.,

Voelker, S.L., Brooks, J.R., Lachenbruch, B., Falk, K.

and McKay, J. 2014. Impacts of dwarf mistletoe on the

physiology of host Tsuga heterophylla trees as recorded

in tree-ring C and O stable isotopes. Tree Physiology

34(6): 595-607.[Reporting a long-term study of infected

and uninfected western hemlock. Uninfected trees grew

more rapidly than infected but rapidly declined in

growth as measured in growth rings and leaf level

photosynthesis.]

Marinho, L.C., de Oliveira, R.P. and Giulietti, A.M. 2014.

(Flora da Bahia: Krameriaceae.) (in Portuguese)

Sitientibus - Série Ciências Biológicas 2014: 14pp.

[Krameria argentea, K. bahiana, K. grandiflora, and K.

tomentosa are described and illustrated and a key

provided.]

Martínez Monseny, A., Martínez Sánchez, L., Margarit

Soler, A., de la Sainz Maza, V.T., Luaces Cubells, C.

2014. (Poisonous plants: an ongoing problem.) (in

Spanish) Anales de Pediatría 82(5): 347-353.

[Describing cases of poisoning, including one at least

from mistletoe, presumably Viscum album.]

Masirevic, S., Medic-Pap, S., Konstantinovic, B. and Terzic,

A. 2015. Influence of nutritive media and low

temperatures on broomrape seed germination. Bulgarian

Journal of Agricultural Science 21(1): 100-104. [Highest

germination of Orobanche cumana seeds was observed

on the agar medium with gibberelic acid in the presence

of sunflower roots. Cooling of broomrape seeds to 4°C

for 21 day stimulated germination and average radicle

length.]

Mathiasen, R.L. and Kenaley, S.C. 2015. A morphometric

analysis of dwarf mistletoes in the Arceuthobium

campylopodum-occidentale complex (Viscaceae).

Madroño 62(1): 1-20. [Discussing the complex of four

closely-related taxa: A. campylopodum, A. occidentale,

A. littorum and A. siskiyouense, parasites on ‘hard’ pines

(a range of Pinus species) and concluding from a range

of studies that A. littorum and A. siskiyouense are clearly

distinct. A. campylopodum and A. occidentale are more

problematic but are considered separable and a guide to

their separation is provided.]

Matsuo, Y., Sakagami, H. and Mimaki, Y. 2014. A rare type

of sesquiterpene and β-Santalol derivatives from

Santalum album and their cytotoxic activities. Chemical

& Pharmaceutical Bulletin 62(12): 1192-1199. [cis-β-

santalol and β-santaldiol induced apoptotic cell death in

HL-60 human leukemia cells.]

Matusova, R., Kullačová, D. and Tóth, P. 2014. Response of

weedy and non-weedy broomrapes to synthetic

strigolactone analogue GR24. Journal of Central

European Agriculture 15(4): 72-82. [Seeds of

Phelipanche ramosa and P. purpurea were highly

sensitive to GR24. However, germination of several wild

species, Orobanche alba, O. caryophyllacea and P.

arenaria was low, while the stimulant was completely

ineffective on other non-weedy species O. alsatica, O.

elatior, O. flava, O. lutea, O. pallidiflora, and O.

reticulata. The hosts from which these species were

collected is indicated.]

Medina-Pérez, V., López-Laredo, A.R., Sepúlveda-

Jiménez, G., Zamilpa, A. and Trejo-Tapia, G. 2015.

Nitrogen deficiency stimulates biosynthesis of bioactive

phenylethanoid glycosides in the medicinal plant

Castilleja tenuiflora Benth. Acta Physiologiae

Plantarum 37(5): 93. [C. tenuifolia is a source of

phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs), promising natural

products for chronic disease treatment. This study

confirmed that verbascoside and isoverbascoside were

enhanced under N deficiency.]

Mennes, C.B., Moerland, M.S., Rath, M., Smets, E.F. and

Merckx, V.S.F.T. 2015. Evolution of mycoheterotrophy

in Polygalaceae: the case of Epirixanthes. American

Journal of Botany 102(4): 598-608. [Confirming

Epirixanthes as sister to the chlorophyllous Salomonia

in the tribe Polygaleae.]

Mesbah, N. and Noorhosseini, S.A. 2014. Effect of nitrogen

fertilizers on the yield of host plant, sunflower

(Helianthus annuus) in presence of parasitic plant

(Orobanche aegyptiaca). Research Journal of Biological

Sciences 9(5): 188-192. [In a pot experiment in Iran,

various forms of N at 2-5 ppm reduced O. aegyptiaca

and increased sunflower growth.]

Messias, P.A., Vidal Júnior, J.de D., Koch, I. and

Christianini, A.V. 2014. Host specificity and

experimental assessment of the early establishment of

the mistletoe Phoradendron crassifolium (Pohl ex DC.)

Eichler (Santalaceae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in

southeast Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 28(44): 577-

582. [Although Lithraea molleoides, Tapirira

guianensis and Siparuna guianensis were the

commonest hosts, P. crassifolium appeared to have a

wide host range and its prevalence or lack of it is more

dependent on dispersal limitation than on mistletoe-host

compatibility.]

Miao ZhongQin, Zhao DongPing and Guo YuHai. 2014.

(Pectinase and cellulase produced by the parasite plant

Cistanche tubulosa are involved in parasitising its host

root.) (in Chinese) Journal of China Agricultural

University 19(6): 88-94. [Confirming that pectinase and

cellulase are involved in the invasion of the root of

Tamarix chinesis by C. tubulosa haustoria.]

Míguez, F., Fernández-Marín, B., Hernández, A., Becerril,

J.M. and García-Plazaola, J.I. 2015. Does age matter

under winter photoinhibitory conditions? A case study

in stems and leaves of European mistletoe (Viscum

album). Functional Plant Biology 42(2): 175-185.

[Confirming the idea of stems as main photosynthetic

organs in V. album during winter.]

Mishra Deepak, Mishra Pratima and Awasthi Arpita. 2014.

Chromatographic finger print analysis, phyto-chemical

and microbicidal screening, of an important medicinal

plant of Vindhya Region - Santalum album Linn. Online

International Interdisciplinary Research Journal

4(Special Issue (January)): 237-246.

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Mohammadi, A. 2014. Biological control of Orobanche

ramosa by Fusarium solani. International Journal of

Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research 2(11):

2751-2755. [Isolates of F. solani from diseased O.

ramosa on tomato, eggplant, melon, and watermelon

fields in Southern Khorasan were tested and found

pathogenic to all stages of the parasite. But no mention

of crop safety.]

*Mohsen Marvibaigi, Eko Supriyanto, Neda Amini and

Fadzilah Adibah, A.M. 2014. Preclinical and clinical

effects of mistletoe against breast cancer. BioMed

Research International 2014: Article ID 785479.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/785479/)

[Reviewing the benefits of Viscum album-based therapy

in treatment of breast cancer and concluding there is

‘evidence that there might be a combination of

pharmacological and motivational aspects mediated by

the mistletoe extract application which may contribute to

the clinical benefit and positive outcome such as

improved quality of life and self-regulation.’]

Molehin, O.R. and Adefegha, S.A. 2015. Antioxidant and

inhibitory effects of aqueous and ethanolic extract of

Tapinanthus bangwensis leaves on Fe

-induced lipid

peroxidation in pancreas (in vitro). International Food

Research Journal 22(1): 269-274. [Aqueous and

ethanolic extracts of T. bangwensis showed antioxidant

effects with potential to protect the pancreas against

oxidative damage in rats, the aqueous extract being the

more effective.]

Mony, R., Tchatat, M., Massako, F. and Dibong, S.D. 2014.

(Safou parasitism by Tapinanthus on Logbessou's

plateau (Douala, Cameroon).) (in French) Tropicultura

32(4): 177-182. [A survey establishing that ‘safou’ –

Dacryodes edulis (Burseraceae), butterfruit in English -

is extensively parasitized by Tapinanthus ogowensis and

by T. preussii.]

Morais-Costa, F., Bastos, G.A., Soares, A.C.M., Nunes,

Y.R.F. and Geraseev, L.C. 2015. (Influence of structure

of vegetation in the selection of diet by sheep in Cerrado

area.) (in Portuguese) Revista Caatinga 28(2): 188-196.

[Ximenia americana among species most favoured by

sheep in this region of Brazil.]

Mothana, R.A., Al-Musayeib, N.M., Al-Ajmi, M.F., Cos, P.

and Maes, L. 2014. Evaluation of the in vitro

antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, and antitrypanosomal

activity of medicinal plants used in Saudi and Yemeni

traditional medicine. Evidence-based Complementary

and Alternative Medicine 2014: Article ID 905639.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/905639/)

[Extracts of ‘Loranthus regularis’ (= Phragmanthera

regularis) exhibited moderate activity against

Trypanosoma brucei.]

Mounde, L.G., Boh, M.Y., Cotter, M. and Rasche, F. 2015.

Potential of rhizobacteria for promoting sorghum growth

and suppressing Striga hermonthica development.

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection 122(2): 100-

106. [In the absence of Striga, the studied bacteria cause

some stimulation of sorghum growth, and 3 of the 4 -

Bacillus subtilis GBO3, B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42

and Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN showed promising

potential to promote sorghum growth and suppress

Striga germination, attachment and survival.]

Moupela, C., Doucet, J.L. Daïnou, K., Brostaux, Y.,

Fayolle, A. and Vermeulen, C. 2014. Reproductive

ecology of Coula edulis Baill., source of a valuable non-

timber forest product. Tropical Ecology 55(3): 327-338.

[Fruit production in C. edulis (Olacaceae) shown to be

closely correlated with tree diameter.]

Moupela, C., Doucet, J.L., Daïnou, K., Meunier, Q. and

Vermeulen, C. 2013. (Propagation trials with Coula

edulis Baill. using seeds and air layering; prospects for

domestication.) (in French) Bois et Forêts des Tropiques

318: 3-13. [Germination of C. edulis, African walnut, is

low and fails to respond to pre-treatments, whereas air

layering proves highly successful.]

Murage, A.W., Midega, C.A.O., Pittchar, J.O., Pickett,

J.A. and Khan, Z.R. 2015. Determinants of adoption

of climate-smart push-pull technology for enhanced

food security through integrated pest management in

eastern Africa. Food Security 7(3): 709-724. [The

new ‘climate-smart push-pull’ involves the more

drought tolerant Desmodium intortum with

Brachiaria cv mulato II as the border crop. This

detailed socio-economic study suggested that the

revised technology should be acceptable and

profitable (marginal rate of return over 100% for

sorghum and maize) over considerable areas of

Striga hermonthica-infested Kenya, Tanzania and

Ethiopia, with gender, perceptions of Striga severity,

technology awareness and input market access the

most likely factors that would positively influence the

decision to adopt.]

Musyoki, M.K., Cadisch, G., Enowashu, E., Zimmermann,

J., Muema, E., Beed, F. and Rasche, F. 2015. Promoting

effect of Fusarium oxysporum [f.sp. strigae] on

abundance of nitrifying prokaryotes in a maize

rhizosphere across soil types. Biological Control 83: 37-

45. [It was concluded that ‘Foxy-2 F. oxysporum did not

pose a negative effect on targeted indigenous

microorganisms, but the underlying mechanisms for the

observed promoting effect of ammonia-oxidizing

archaea abundance are yet to be understood.]

Musselman, L.J. 2014. Japanese dodder, Cuscuta japonica.

Cinquapin. The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian

Botanical Society 22(4): 1. [Describing and illustrating a

new occurrence of C. japonica on live oak (Quercus

virginiana) in Texas, USA. This infestation is flowering

unlike those recently reported California.]

Mustarichie, R., Warya, S., Saptarini, N.M. and Ramdhani,

D. 2015. Total flavonoid content and anti-inflammatory

properties of Indonesian mistletoes (Dendrophthoe

pentandra (L.) Miq.) ethanol extract. World Journal of

Pharmaceutical Research 4(4): 287-302. [D. pentandra

is used traditionally in Indonesia to cure coughs,

hypertension, diabetes, cancer, ulcers, smallpox,

diuretic, skin infection and after child-birth. The study

identified quercetin as the probable agent providing

anti-inflammatory activity.]

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Musyoki, M.K., Cadisch, G., Enowashu, E., Zimmermann,

J., Muema, E., Beed, F. and Rasche, F. 2015. Promoting

effect of Fusarium oxysporum [f.sp. strigae] on

abundance of nitrifying prokaryotes in a maize

rhizosphere across soil types. Biological Control 83: 37-

45. [Concluding that F. oxysporum (Foxy-2) applied to

soil for control of Striga hermonthica did not pose a

negative effect on targeted indigenous microorganisms,

but the underlying mechanisms for an observed

promoting effect on ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA)

by Foxy-2 inoculation are yet to be understood.]

Muvengwi, J., Ndagurwa, H.G.T. and Nyenda, T. 2015.

Enhanced soil nutrient concentrations beneath-canopy of

savanna trees infected by mistletoes in a southern

African savanna. Journal of Arid Environments 116: 25-

28. [Showing that soil fertility was higher under

‘mistletoe’-infected Sclerocarya birrea and Diospyros

mespiliformis than under uninfested trees in southern

Africa but mistletoe species not defined.]

Mwangi, B., Obare, G. and Murage, A. 2014. Estimating the

adoption rates of two contrasting Striga weeds control

technologies in Kenya. Quarterly Journal of

International Agriculture 53(3): 225-242. [A survey of

326 maize farmers in Western Kenya found 37% using

push-pull technology, involving the use of Desmodium

and 36.3% using Imidazolinone-resistant maize treated

with herbicide. Potential take-up was estimated at 56%

and 46% respectively.]

N'cho, S.A. 2014. Socio-economic impacts and

determinants of parasitic weed infestation in rainfed rice

systems of sub-Saharan Africa. PhD Thesis.

Wageningen, Netherlands: Wageningen University). 160

pp. [Parasitic weeds (apparently predominantly

Rhamphicarpa fistulosa) cause crop losses ranging from

21% to 50% and are not being adequately controlled by

the current hand-weeding procedures. Preferable

‘improved weed management practices’ are mentioned

but not defined in the abstract.]

Ndagurwa, H.G.T., Dube, J.S. and Mlambo, D. 2015.

Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of mistletoe

litters in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe.

Austral Ecology 40(2): 178-185. [Studying the

decomposition and nutrient dynamics of litter of

Erianthemum ngamicum, Plicosepalus kalachariensis,

Viscum verrucosum and Acacia karroo in southwest

Zimbabwe. Decay rates were higher for the mistletoe

spp. than for A. karoo suggesting that they play an

important role in carbon and nutrient fluxes in semi-arid

savanna.]

*Negero Gemeda and 11 others. 2014. Insecticidal activity

of some traditionally used Ethiopian medicinal plants

against sheep ked Melophagus ovinus. Journal of

Parasitology Research 2014: Article ID 978537.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jpr/2014/978537/)

[Ximenia caffra is among plants used traditionally to

control M. ovinus (a tick-like fly) but in this study of 12

specis, X. caffra was relatively ineffective.]

Nobis, M. and 15 others. 2015. Contribution to the flora of

Asian and European countries: new national and

regional vascular plant records, 3. Acta Botanica Gallica

162(2): 103-115. [Recording Orobanche alba ssp.

xanthostigma) from Georgia.]

Nwaehujor, C.O., Ode, J.O., Nwinyi, F.C. and Asuzu, O.V.

2014. Mechanism of action involved in the

hepatoprotective activities of methanol extract of

Cassytha filiformis L. aerial parts in CCl

-induced liver

damage. Comparative Clinical Pathology 23(6): 1749-

1755. [Extracts of C. filiformis are used in Nigeria to

treat liver disorders including hepatitis and alcohol

intoxication. Findings of this study suggest that a

methanol extract of C. filiformis could be useful in

protecting hepatocytes from toxins especially from

alcohol intoxication.]

Ogunmefun, O.T., Olatunji, B.P. and Adarabioyo, M.I.

2015. Ethnomedicinal survey on the uses of mistletoe in

South-western Nigeria. European Journal of Medicinal

Plants 8(4): 224-230. [This study confirms the local

beliefs in the merits of a range of mistletoes harvested

from cocoa and Cola spp. including Phragmanthera,

Agelanthus, Globimetula and Tapinanthus spp. for the

treatment of diabetes, hypertension, insomnia and

infertility but gives no details on individual species.]

*Ogunkunle, A.T.J., Oyelakin, T.M., Enitan, A.O. and

Oyewole, F.E. 2014. A quantitative documentation of

the composition of two powdered herbal formulations

(antimalarial and haematinic) using ethnomedicinal

information from Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Evidence-based

Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014: Article

ID 751291.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/751291/)

[Cassytha filiformis one of the components of the multi-

component antimalarial herbal concoction (Maloff-

HB).]

Olaniyan, A.B. 2015. Maize: panacea for hunger in Nigeria.

African Journal of Plant Science 9(3): 155-174. [Noting

that the increasing popularity of maize in more northern

parts of Nigeria is threatened by attack from Striga spp.]

Orhan, D.D., Senol, F.S., Hosbas, S. and Orhan, I.E. 2014.

Assessment of cholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibitory

and antioxidant properties of Viscum album L. samples

collected from different host plants and its two principal

substances. Industrial Crops and Products 62: 341-349.

[Aqueous and methanol extracts of V. album displayed

strong antioxidant activity in DPPH and DMPD radical

quenching tests as well as FRAP and metal-chelation

capacity assays. No indication of differences according

to host plant. Study conducted in Turkey.]

Özdemı̇r, E. and Alpınar, K. 2015. An ethnobotanical

survey of medicinal plants in western part of central

Taurus Mountains: Aladaglar (Nigde - Turkey). Journal

of Ethnopharmacology 166: 53-65. [Viscum album

subsp. abietis among the most commonly used

medicinal plants in the region.]

Palasuwan, A. and Soogarun, S. 2014. Total antioxidant

activity of Thai medicinal plants associated with the

treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and

cancers. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Research 6(10): 27-3. [Recording relatively high

antioxidant activity in Balanophora abbreviata.]

Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, K.C., Onyeike, E.N. and Adhikari, A.

2014. Isolation, identification and characterization of

gallic acid derivatives from leaves of Tapinanthus

bangwensis. Journal of Natural Products (India) 7: 14-

19. [Describing the isolation of three gallic acid

derivatives from the ethyl acetate fraction of leaves of T.

bangwensis, which could be responsible for the

therapeutic potential of this species.]

Paudel, P.N. and Rajendra Gyawali. 2014. Phytochemical

screening and antimicrobial activities of some selected

medicinal plants of Nepal. International Journal of

Pharmaceutical and Biological Archives 5(3): 84-92.

[The extract of Osyris wightiana was among a number

of species showing high activity against Escherichia

coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,

Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi and Salmonella

paratyphi. It was also active against Candida albicans

but not against Trichoderma viridae.]

Paul, B.N., Pandey, B.K. and Giri, S.S. 2014. Effect of plant

based feed attractants on growth of Cirrhinus mrigala

fingerlings. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology

14(2): 393-398. [‘Awbel’, based on Cuscuta reflexa

proved the best of several plant extracts added to fish

food to encourage feeding of C. mrigala (white carp).]

Pavlů, V., Pavlů, L. and Fraser, M.D. 2014. Long-term

effects of extensification regimes on soil and botanical

characteristics of improved upland grasslands. In:

Hopkins, A. et al. (eds) EGF at 50: The future of

European grasslands. Proceedings of the 25th General

Meeting of the European Grassland Federation,

Aberystwyth, Wales, 7-11 September 2014: 251-253.

[Noting that lime application had relatively little effect

on plant species composition, but decreased Rhinanthus

minor which can initiate further steps within the

extensification process. The most effective management

for grassland biodiversity restoration was hay cutting

with aftermath grazing.]

Pichit Khetkam, Xie XiaoNan, Kisugi, T., Kim HyunIl,

Yoneyama, K., Uchida, K., Yokota, T., Nomura, T. and

Yoneyama, K. 2014. 7α- and 7β-Hydroxyorobanchyl

acetate as germination stimulants for root parasitic

weeds produced by cucumber. Journal of Pesticide

Science 39(3/4): 121-126. [Cucumber found to exude at

least 12 germination stimulants including 5 known

strigolactones, 7-oxoorobanchol, 7-oxoorobanchyl

acetate, orobanchol, orobanchyl acetate, and 4-

deoxyorobanchol. 7α- and 7β-hydroxyorobanchyl

acetate with activity on Orobanche minor comparable to

that of orobanchyl acetate. 7β-hydroxyorobanchyl

acetate was a highly potent germination stimulant for

Phelipanche ramosa.]

*Pickett, J.A., Woodcock, C.M., Midega, A,A,O. and Khan,

Z.R. 2014. Push–pull farming systems. Current Opinion

in Biotechnology 26: 125-132.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958

166913007210) [A detailed review of the ‘push-pull’

technique for control of stem-borers and Striga with

emphasis on the possibilities for exploitation on other

insect targets.]

*Pineda-Martos, R., Pujadas-Salvà, A.J., Fernández-

Martínez, J.M., Stoyanov, K., Velasco, L. and Pérez-

Vich, B. 2014. The genetic structure of wild

Orobanche cumana Wallr. (Orobanchaceae)

populations in eastern Bulgaria reflects

introgressions from weedy populations. The

Scientific World Journal 2014: Article ID 150432.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2014/150432/

) [Populations of O. cumana were collected from wild

hosts – mainly Artemisia maritima, but also A.

arvensis and Chamaemelum nobile (also Asteraceae).

These populations were not clearly genetically

differentiated from populations attacking sunflower

and could be equally virulent on crop varieties with

resistance to races B to D, though none infected P96

with resistance to race F. Results emphasise the risks

of out-crossing with ‘wild’ populations contributing

to breakdown in resistance.]

Piwowarczyk, R. 2014. Orobanche flava (Orobanchaceae)

in Poland: current distribution, taxonomy, hosts and

plant communities. Biodiversity: Research and

Conservation 34: 41-52. [Describing the taxonomy,

biology and ecology of O. flava, occurring in southern

Poland, mainly in the Carpathian mountains and,

sporadically, in the Sudeten mountains.]

Piwowarczyk, R. and Krajewski, Ł. 2014. Orobanche lutea

Baumg. (Orobanchaceae) in Poland: revised

distribution, taxonomy, phytocoenological and host

relations. Biodiversity: Research and Conservation 34:

17-39. [Describing the taxonomy, biology, ecology and

distribution of O. lutea in Poland. It is associated

especially with highly calcareous soils and with old

mining sites with toxic heavy metals.]

Piwowarczyk, R. and Krajewski, Ł. 2015. Orobanche

elatior and O. kochii (Orobanchaceae) in Poland:

distribution, taxonomy, plant communities and seed

micromorphology. Acta Societatis Botanicorum

Poloniae 84(1): 103-123. [Reporting a critical revision

of herbarium and literature data on O. elatior s.l. in

Poland, separating O. elatior s.s. from the closely

related O. kochii. The taxonomy, host preferences (all

on Centaurea spp.?), and ecology are discussed and

diagnostic features of the seeds described.]

Piwowarczyk, R., Madeja, J. and Nobis, M. 2015. Pollen

morphology of the Central European broomrapes

(Orobanchaceae: Orobanche, Phelipanche and

Orobanchella) and its taxonomical implications. Plant

Systematics and Evolution 301(2): 795-808.

[Palynological data from 25 (18 new) species of

Orobanche and Phelipanche are reported. The pollen of

one species, O. coerulescens, is divergent prompting the

authors to (controversially) segregate it into their newly

named genus Orobanchella.]

Poczai, P., Varga, I. and Hyvönen, J. 2015. Internal

transcribed spacer (ITS) evolution in populations of the

hyperparasitic European mistletoe pathogen fungus,

Sphaeropsis visci (Botryosphaeriaceae): the utility of

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

ITS2 secondary structures. Gene 558(1): 54-64.

[Relating to S. visci occurring on V. album in Hungary.]

Praseeja, R.J., Sreejith, P.S. and Asha, V.V. 2015. Studies

on the apoptosis inducing and cell cycle regulatory

effect of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb chloroform extract on

human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Hep 3B.

International Journal of Applied Research in Natural

Products 8(2): 37-47. [Results showed that the extract of

C. reflexa is able to induce apoptosis in Hep 3B cells in

a dose and time dependent manner through the intrinsic

mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. It is thus a potential

candidate for further development as an anti-HCC drug.]

Pujadas Salvá, A.J. and Triano Muñoz, E. 2014.

(Orobanche subbaetica Triano & A. Pujadas

(Orobanchaceae), a new species from southern Iberian

Peninsula, Andalusia, Spain.) (in Spanish) Acta Botanica

Malacitana 39: 274-282. [Describing O. subbaetica

growing on Antirrhinum litigiosum. Similar to O.

castellana and O. amethystea but taller and more robust.

With detailed description and illustration.]

*Qian ChaoDong, Fu YuHang, Jiang FuSheng, Xu

ZhengHong, Cheng DongQing, Ding Bin, Gao

ChengXian and Ding ZhiShan. 2014. Lasiodiplodia sp.

ME4-2, an endophytic fungus from the floral parts of

Viscum coloratum, produces indole-3-carboxylic acid

and other aromatic metabolites. BMC Microbiology 14:

297.

(http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12866-

014-0297-0.pdf) [Identifying a fungal endophyte of V.

coloratum as Lasiodiplodia sp., based on its molecular

biological characteristics. Isolating 5 aromatic

compounds from its culture, especially 2-phenylethanol,

a common component of floral essential oils. Thus

endophytic fungi isolated from plant flowers may be

promising natural sources of aromatic compounds.]

Raftoyannis, Y., Radoglou, K. and Bredemeier, M. 2015.

Effects of mistletoe infestation on the decline and

mortality of Abies cephalonica in Greece. Annals of

Forest Research 58(1): 55-65. [Showing significantly

lower water potentials and higher photochemical

efficiencies in Viscum album than in Greek fir branches

and confirming a correlation between V. album

infestation and decline of the fir.]

Rahmawati, S.I., Ishimaru, K., Hou DeXing and Hayashi,

N. 2014. Antioxidant and anticancer activities of

mistletoe tea prepared by high temperature extraction

with cyclodextrin. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural

Science 20(4): 818-823. [Addition of hydroxypropyl-b-

cyclodextrin (b-CD) to an extract of Scurrula

atropurpurea led to effective anticancer activity.]

Rafiqul Islam, Rahman, M.S. and Rahman, S.M. 2015. GC-

MS analysis and antibacterial activity of Cuscuta reflexa

against bacterial pathogens. Asian Pacific Journal of

Tropical Disease 5(5): 399-403. [Claiming significant

antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Sarcina

lutea, Xanthomonas campestris, Escherichia coli,

Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris and

Pseudomonas denitrificans.]

Rahmad, Z.B., Addo-Fordjour, P., Asyraf, M. and Rosely,

N.F.N. 2014. Mistletoe abundance, distribution and

associations with trees along roadsides in Penang,

Malaysia. Tropical Ecology 55(2): 255-262. [In a survey

the most abundant mistletoe species was Scurrula

ferruginia (718 individuals) followed by Dendrophthoe

pentandra (585 individuals). Tabebuia pallida was the

most frequently parasitised host.]

Raina, A.K. and Abdul Hamid. 2014. Floristic analysis of

Chiktan Valley in Kargil district, Jammu and Kashmir.

Environment Conservation Journal 15(3): 71-79. [The

flora included 3 Pedicularis spp. – P. pyramidata, P.

cheilanthifolia and P. scullyana.]

Ranjan, A., Ichihashi, Y., Farhi, M., Zumstein, K.,

Townsley, B., David-Schwartz, R., Sinha, N.R.,

Edwards, R. and Hannah, M. 2014. De novo assembly

and characterization of the transcriptome of the parasitic

weed dodder identifies genes associated with plant

parasitism. Plant Physiology 166(3): 1186-1199.

[Infection of tomato by Cuscuta pentagona is

accompanied, in the parasite, by increased expression of

genes underlying transport and transporter categories,

response to stress and stimuli, as well as genes encoding

enzymes involved in cell wall modifications while

expression of photosynthetic genes is decreased in the

dodder infective stages compared with normal stem. In

addition, genes relating to biosynthesis, transport, and

response of phytohormones, such as auxin, gibberellins,

and strigolactone, are differentially expressed in the

dodder infective stages compared with stems and

seedlings.]

Rao, J.P., Satish, K.V., Sankar, B.S., Reddy, C.S. and

Kumar, O.A. 2015. On the occurrence of parasitic plant

Balanophora fungosa J.R. Forster & G. Forster

(Balanophoraceae) in Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of

Threatened Taxa 7(2): 6943-6946. [Describing the

morphology, habitat, flowering and fruiting date, floral

associations and distribution of B. fungosa in peninsular

India, where it is used traditionally for treatment against

skin infections and piles.]

Reblin, J.S. and Logan, B.A. 2015. Impacts of eastern

dwarf mistletoe on the stem hydraulics of red spruce and

white spruce, two host species with different drought

tolerances and responses to infection. Trees: Structure

and Function 29(2): 475-486. [Exploring why

Arceuthobium pusillum is more damaging on white

spruce (Picea glauca) than on red spruce (P. rubens).

Red spruce apparently protects whole-tree resources

from A. pusillum by shedding infected branches but this

is not due to any greater susceptibility to water stress-

induced xylem failure.]

Reif, B.P., Mathiasen, R.L., Kenaley, S.C. and Allan, G.J.

2015. Genetic structure and morphological

differentiation of three western north American dwarf

mistletoes (Arceuthobium: Viscaceae). Systematic

Botany 40(1): 191-207. [Relating to Archeuthobium

cyanocarpum , A. apachecum and A. blumeri, which

parasitise white pines (Pinus subgenus strobus) in the

western USA and northern Mexico. And concluding

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

from both amplified fragment length polymorphism and

morphometric analyses that they are well-differentiated

genetically and morphologically, and therefore, should

be considered distinct species.]

Ribeiro, D.A., Macêdo, D.G., Oliveira, L.G.S., Saraiva,

M.E., Oliveira, S.F., Souza, M.M.A. and Menezes, I.R.A

2014. (Therapeutic potential and use of medicinal plants

in an area of the Caatinga in the state of Ceará,

northeastern Brazil.) (in Portuguese) Revista Brasileira

de Plantas Medicinais 16(4): 912-930. [Among 116

species mentioned for medicinal purposes in this region,

Ximenia americana picked out as one of the most

versatile.]

Robart, B.W., Gladys, C., Frank, T. and Kilpatrick, S. 2015.

Phylogeny and biogeography of North American and

Asian Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae). Systematic Botany

40(1): 229-258. [Nuclear ITS and plastid matK were

used to construct a phylogeny incorporating 28 North

American and 102 Asian/European species of

Pedicularis. Probable ancestral areas and dispersal

routes were analyzed using the biogeographic program

S-DIVA.]

Rodenburg, J., Cissoko, M., Kayeke, J., Dieng, I., Khan,

Z.R., Midega, C.A.O., Onyuka, E.A. and Scholes, J.D

2015. Do NERICA rice cultivars express resistance to

Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. and Striga asiatica

(L.) Kuntze under field conditions? Field Crops

Research 170: 83-94. [For the first time, confirming

Striga- resistance in the field for NERICA-2, -5, -10

and -17 (against S. asiatica) and NERICA-1 to -5, -10,

-12, -13 and -17 (against S. hermonthica). Despite

high Striga-infestation levels, yields of 1.8 t ha

-1

were

obtained with NERICA-1, -9 and -10 (in the S.

asiatica-infested field) and 1.4 t ha

-1

with NERICA-3,

-4, -8, -12 and -13 (in the S. hermonthica-infested

field). ]

Rodenburg, J., Morawetz, J.J. and Bastiaans, L. 2015.

Rhamphicarpa fistulosa, a widespread facultative

hemi-parasitic weed, threatening rice production in

Africa. Weed Research (Oxford) 55(2): 118-131. [A

valuable general review of the apparently increasing

problem of R. fistulosa in rice in Africa, involving

estimated losses of $150M. Reasons for its spread are

not fully understood and although 2,4-D and

fertilizer are among possible control measures, the

scope for further research on these and a range of

other aspects of this problem are discussed in detail.]

Rodrigues, F.F.G., Camilo, C.J., Galvão-Rodrigues, F.F.,

Lopes, C.M.U., de Almeida, S.C.X. and da Costa, J.G

M. 2015. Chemical profile, total phenols, total

flavonoids and antioxidant activity of five species of the

Caatinga biome. Journal of Chemical and

Pharmaceutical Research 7(2): 309-313. [Ximenia

americana among plants of the dry forest region of NE

Brazil used in traditional medicine. Flavones, flavonols,

xanthones, flavononols, steroids and alkaloids identified

and extracts of X. americana shown to have good

antioxidant activities.]

Rosa, A., Nieddu, M., Piras, A., Atzeri, A., Putzu, D. and

Rescigno, A. 2015. Maltese mushroom (Cynomorium

coccineum L.) as source of oil with potential anticancer

activity. Nutrients 7(2): 849-864. [Cynomorium

coccineum is used in traditional medicine and as an

emergency food in Mediterranean countries. Oil

extracted from dried stems shows potential benefits in

cancer prevention, for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical

applications.]

Roucel, M. and Grau, F. 2014. The importance of new

molecules in selective perfumery. Chemistry &

Biodiversity 11(10: 1462-1469. [Including reference to

products from Santalum spp. Sandranol® or

Bacdanol®,]

*Rousseau, C., Hunault, G., Gaillard, S., Bourbeillon, J.,

Montiel, G., Simier, P., Campion, C., Jacques, M.A.,

Belin, E. and Boureau, T. 2015. Phenoplant: a web

resource for the exploration of large chlorophyll

fluorescence image datasets. Plant Metho 11(3 April):

24 pp. [Using this automatic procedure, five chlorophyll

fluorescence parameters were found to be impacted by

the infection of Arabidopsis thaliana by Phelipanche

ramosa. More generally, this procedure may help to

identify chlorophyll fluorescence parameters impacted

by various types of stresses.]

*Saha, C., Hegde, P., Friboulet, A., Bayry, J. and Kaveri,

S.V. 2015. Viscum album-mediated COX-2 inhibition

implicates destabilization of COX-2 mRNA. PLoS ONE

10(2) e0114965.

(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jour

nal.pone.0114965)

Sakulnarmrat, K., Srzednicki, G. and Konczak, I. 2015.

Bioprospecting Davidson's plum and quandong:

cytoprotective and proapoptotic activities. LWT - Food

Science and Technology 61(2): 622-629. [Qundong

(Santalum acuminatum) exhibited cytoprotective

activities and reduced the hydrogen peroxide (H

)

induced death of hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2)

cells.]

Samba, M., Cheikh, A., Ould-Mohamed-Abdellahi, M.V.,

Hadou, A., Boumediana, A.I., Kaihil, A., Deida, M.V.,

Dieng, S., Essassi, E.M. and Minnih, M.S. 2015.

Ethnobotanic study, phytochemical screening,

antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Tapinanthus

pentagonia. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical

Research 7(4): 1604-1610. [T. pentagonia, widespread

in Mauritania is used by Mauritanians to relieve

conditions such as infertility, jaundice and kidney

stones. Activity shown against Staphylococcus aureus.]

Sandler, H., Ghantous, K.M. and Gover, A.E. 2014. Current

challenges in weed management in northeastern

cranberry production. Proceedings of the sixty-eighth

Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Weed Science

Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 6-9 January,

2014. Abstracts of papers: 70. [Cuscuta gronovii in

cranberry was successfully controlled by pronamide

until that herbicide ceased to be available. Since then,

quinclorac has exhibited good control in trials in

Wisconsin but that success has not been duplicated in

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Massachusetts. Also, use of quinclorac is currently

restricted due to export (residue) issues.]

Sardari, A.A., Jalali, A.A.H., Bahraminejad, S. and Safaee,

D. 2015. Effect of plant extracts on the mortality of root-

knot nematodes' J

, Meloidogyne javanica. Archives of

Phytopathology and Plant Protection 48(4): 365-375.

[Rhinanthus minor among 21 species tested on second

stage juvenile (J

) nematodes, but no result in abstract.]

Sardhar and Guggari, A.K. 2015. Management of Cuscuta

spp. in transplanted onion under irrigated condition.

Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences 28(1): 99-

101. [Pendimethalin pre-emergence was the best of a

range of herbicides for control of unspecified Cuscuta in

onion.]

Sarıcıcek, B.. and; Aktas, F. 2013. Determination of feed

value with using in vitro gas production technique of

mistletoes (Viscum album L.) silages relating to different

hosts. VIth International Balkan Animal Conference,

BALNIMALCON 2013, Abstract Book, 3-5 October

2013, Tekirdag, Turkey: 199. [Concluding that silages

made from Viscum album can be suggested as an

alternative forage source for ruminants since they have

high levels of nutrients and other suitable qualities.]

Sarmento, J.D.A., de Morais, P.L.D., de Souza, F.I. and de

Miranda, M.R.A. 2015. Physical-chemical

characteristics and antioxidant potential of seed and pulp

of Ximenia americana L. from the semiarid region of

Brazil. African Journal of Biotechnology 14(20): 1743-

1752. [Demonstrating a wide range of useful mineral,

nutritional and anti-oxidant components in a range of

different extracts from seed and fruit of X. americana.]

Sárpataki, O., Páll, E., Sevastre-Berghian, A.C., Stan, R.L.,

Hanganu, D., Benedec, D., Hangan, A.C., Sevastre, B.

and Marcus, I. 2015. Antiproliferative effect of Viscum

album alcoholic extract in vitro. Bulletin of University

of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-

Napoca. Veterinary Medicine 72(1): 170-173.

[Concluding that V. album provides a significant,

selective antitumor effect on HeLa tumor cells. In

Romania.]

Sateesh Suthari, Sreeramulu, N., Omkar, K.. Reddy, C. and

Vatsavaya Raju. 2014. Intracultural cognizance of

medicinal plants of Warangal North Forest Division,

Northern Telangana, India. Ethnobotany Research and

Applications 12: 211-235. [Including the use of

Dendrophthoe falcata for fever among a total of 257

species listed.]

Schut, M., Rodenburg, J., Klerkx, L., Kayeke, J, van Ast, A.

and Bastiaans, L. 2015. RAAIS: Rapid Appraisal of

Agricultural Innovation Systems (Part II). Integrated

analysis of parasitic weed problems in rice in Tanzania.

Agricultural Systems 132: 12-24. [Results of a survey in

three sites demonstrate that in Tanzania, weeds in

general and parasitic weeds (Striga spp. and

Rhamphicarpa fistulosa) in particular receive little

attention in agricultural research, training and education

curricula. A range of specific and generic entry points

for innovation are identified.]

Scotton, M., Piccinin, L. and Coraiola, M. 2015. Seed

production of a subalpine Festuca nigrescens-Agrostis

capillaris semi-natural grassland in the eastern Italian

Alps. Plant Biosystems 149(2): 404-414. [Noting that

the seed production of the main grasses Festuca

nigrescens and Agrostis capillaries was affected by the

presence of Rhinanthus freynii.]

Shafik, M.M., Abdalla, M.M.F. and El-Wahab, M.M.H.A.

2014. Investigations on faba beans, Vicia faba L. 34.

Selection methods vs. original seeds of variety Cairo 4

from healthy and infested plots evaluated under

Orobanche infestation. Bulletin of Faculty of

Agriculture, Cairo University 65(3): 255-264. [Relating

to testing of numerous samples of faba bean Cairo 4,

known to have tolerance to O. crenata.]

Sharawy, S. and Karakish, E. 2015. Taxonomic

relationships of some species of Orobanche L. evidence

from RAPD-PCR and ISSR markers. Pakistan Journal

of Botany 47(2): 437-452. [Results confirmed two main

groups corresponding to section Trionychon (O.

purpurea, O. lavandulacea, O. ramosa, O. mutelii and

O. aegyptiaca) and to section Orobanche (O. cernua, O.

crenata, O. minor and O. pubescens). High similarity

was detected between O. pubescens and O. minor and

between O. ramosa and O. mutelii..]

Shi, B.X., Chen, G.H., Zhang, Z.J., Hao, J.J., Jing, L.,

Zhou, H.Y. and Zhao, J. 2015. First report of race

composition and distribution of sunflower broomrape,

Orobanche cumana, in China. Plant Disease 99(2): 291-

292. [Races A, D, E and G were the main race types of

O. cumana in China. Race D was the predominant type

and had the widest distribution. Race G was the highest

level race type in this study, but was mainly limited to

the western part of Inner Mongolia.]

Shin KyungHa and 9 others. 2015. Effectiveness of the

combinational treatment of Laminaria japonica and

Cistanche tubulosa extracts in hair growth. Laboratory

Animal Research 31(1): 24-32. [Results suggest that

combinational oral treatment with C. tubulosa with L.

japonica can prevent hair loss and improve alopecia,

perhaps mediated by their anti-inflammatory activities.]

Shobit Gupta, Abhishek Singh, Pooja Chaudhary,

Mukeshwar Pandey, Singh, K.M. and Chikara, S.K.

2014. Identification of soil enriched microorganisms

using 16S rDNA analysis for crop productivity. Current

Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy 8(4): 350-358.

[Identifying potentially cultivable endophytic bacteria in

soils below Santalum album in India.]

Silpa, S., Jamal Uddin and Sekhar, V.L.J. 2014. Screening

of Taxillus tomentosus ethanolic extract for nootropic

and antistress activity in rats. International Journal of

Innovation and Applied Studies 8(4): 1533-1544.

[Results show significant neuro-protection, memory

enhancement activity of T. tomentosus extracts which

could be useful as supportive adjuvant in treatment of

stress and stress related disorders.]

Siuli Batabyal, Tinkari Dalal and Jagatpati Tah. 2014.

Responses of some phyto-hormones for vegetative

propagation of an ancient precious wood plant:

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Santalum album L. Bioscience Discovery 5(2): 170-174.

[Results not clear, but interesting comment that ‘So far,

the only means of propagation is through endozoochory,

the natural propagation through bird's droppings.]

*Skippington, E., Barkman, T.J., Rice, D.W. and

Palmer, J.D. 2015. Miniaturized mitogenome of the

parasitic plant Viscum scurruloideum is extremely

divergent and dynamic and has lost all nad genes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

(http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/06/18/15044

91112.abstract) [Papers presented at the recent

congress in Kunming, China (see above) stunningly

displayed the value of genomic studies into the

evolution and function of parasitic plants. Here is

another remarkable example. This paper, from the

laboratory of Jeff Palmer at Indiana University

where many landmark studies on parasites have been

conducted (sequence of Epifagus virginiana,

discovery of parasite genes in the basal angiosperm

Amborella, and more) reports what the authors

rightly term ‘the wonderfully bizarre mitogenome of

the hemiparasitic aerial mistletoe Viscum

scurruloideum.’ This mistletoe was collected in

Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah and the

genome of the mitochondrion sequenced revealing

unprecedented reduction in respiratory genes,

making it the smallest known mitogenome of any

land plant! The authors cautiously link this

reduction with the parasitic behavior of the plant

while at the same time pointing out a dramatic

increase in synonymous substitution rates. The

related mistletoe genus Arceuthobium has been

studied by Dan Nickrent and his students, who

reported genomic reductions as part of a shift to

holoparasitism but the present report is the first of its

kind for this genus.]

Soberón, J.R., Sgariglia, M.A., Dip Maderuelo, M.R.,

Andina, M.L., Sampietro, D.A. and Vattuone, M.A.

2014. Antibacterial activities of Ligaria cuneifolia and

Jodina rhombifolia leaf extracts against phytopathogenic

and clinical bacteria. Journal of Bioscience and

Bioengineering 118(5): 599-605. [L. cuneifolia

(Loranthaceae) showed inhibitory activities against

phytopathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas syringae,

clinical strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus

aureus. J. rhombifolia (Santalaceae) was active only on

Pseudomonas syringae.]

Solanki, N.S., Chauhan, C.S., Vyas, B. and Marothia, D.

2015. Santalum album Linn: a review. International

Journal of PharmTech Research 7(4): 629-640. [A wide-

ranging review of the distribution, agronomy and

phytochemistry of S. album and of its uses in perfumery

and traditional medicine including its use in cystitis,

gonorrhea, skin care, Helicobacter pylori-induced ulcer,

bladder infections, etc.]

Sonia, M.D., Robinson, P.J. and Rajasekaran, A.S. 2015.

Mining efficient fuzzy bio-statistical rules for

association of Sandalwood in Pachaimalai hills. In:

Andreopoulou, Z.S. and Arabatzis, G. (eds) International

Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Information

Systems (IJAEIS) 6(2): 40-76. [Including an item on

‘the mining of efficient fuzzy bio-statistical rules for

plant associations around sandalwood (Santalum

album)’ in Tamil Nadu.]

Sönmez, T. 2014. (Effect of mistletoe on growth of Scotch

pine (Pinus silvestris L.).) (in Turkish) Artvin Çoruh

Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Dergisi 15(1): 64-72.

[Results suggest that Viscum album reduced the annual

diameter increment of P. sylvestris by 40% within 10

years, the height growth by 47% and the double bark

thickness by about 25%. (Or was the V. album

associated with weaker trees? Ed.]

Souza, R.K.D., da Silva, M.A.P., de Menezes, I.R.A.,

Ribeiro, D.A., Bezerra, L.R. and Souza, M.M.deA.

2014. Ethnopharmacology of medicinal plants of

carrasco, northeastern Brazil. Journal of

Ethnopharmacology 157: 99-104. [Ximenia americana

among the species warranting more in-depth study, on

the basis of versatility and informant consensus on the

uses of the species.]

Stachnowicz, W. 2013. Melampyrum cristatum L. - a rare

river corridor plant in Wielkopolska and Poland.

Biodiversity: Research and Conservation 32: 29-44.

[Describing the distribution of C. cristatum in Poland,

once thought extinct but now found at sites along the

Warta river. Its scarcity may be connected to the

changeable water regime in floodplains, as well as

potential limitations of myrmecochoric seed dispersal.]

*Steele, M.L., Axtner, J., Happe, A., Kröz, M., Matthes, H.

and Schad, F. 2014. Adverse drug reactions and

expected effects to therapy with subcutaneous mistletoe

extracts (Viscum album L.) in cancer patients. Evidence-

based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014:

Article ID 724258.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/724258/)

[A study of 1923 cancer patients treated with

subcutaneous V. album extracts indicated no serious

adverse reaction.]

*Steele, M.L., Axtner, J., Happe, A., Kröz, M., Matthes, H.

and Schad, F. 2014. Safety of intravenous application of

mistletoe (Viscum album L.) preparations in oncology:

an observational study. Evidence-based Complementary

and Alternative Medicine 2014: Article ID 236310.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/236310/)

[A study based on 475 patients suggested that

intravenous injections of V. album preparations

(Abnoba, Helixor and Iscucin) caused less adverse

reactions than the recommended sub-cutaneous

injections.]

Steele, M.L., Axtner, J., Happe, A., Kröz, M., Matthes, H.

and Schad, F. 2015. Use and safety of intratumoral

application of European mistletoe (Viscum album L)

preparations in oncology. Integrative Cancer Therapies

14(2): 140-148. [In a survey of the results of 862

injections in 123 patients over 6 years with V. album

preparations. Virtually no serious adverse reactions

were recorded. There were more mild to moderate

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

reactions than previously reported but further studies are

warranted with suitable caution.]

Su, H.-J., Hu, J.-M., Anderson, F.E. and Nickrent D.L.

2015. Phylogenetic relationships of Santalales with

insights into the origins of holoparasitic

Balanophoraceae. Taxon 64(3): 491-506. [A seven gene

by 197 taxon matrix was analyzed to examine

relationships within Santalales, particularly the position

of Balanophoraceae. The latter was shown to be

composed of two clades here referred to as

Balanophoraceae s. str. and Mystropetalaceae

(Dactylanthus, Hachettea, and Mystropetalon).]

Su XiaoJuan, Liu GuangDa, Liu Ying, Feng XiaoYu and

Chen GuiLin. 205. (Mitochondrial gene intron

sequences analysis of medicinal parasitic plant

Cynomorium songaricum.) (in Chinese) Genomics and

Applied Biology 34(2): 373-381. [Cox1 gene group I

introns in angiosperm always have the phenomenon of

horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The sequences of

mitochondrial cox1, cox2 and nad1 genes in medicinal

parasitic plant C. songaricum was amplified and

analyzed. The phylogeny of cox1 gene intron results did

not match another three, which suggested the intron may

have horizontal gene transfer (HGT) phenomenon. The

result suggested the intron of cox1 gene may have

function, and most likely codes endonuclease, which can

promote the intron to transfer.]

Sui Yi and Zhang Ling. 2014. (A preliminary investigation

on the spatial distribution patterns of mistletoes in

polyculture and monoculture plantations in

Xishuangbanna, Southwest China.) (in Chinese) Journal

of Yunnan University - Natural Sciences Edition 36(5):

755-764. [Studies of the spatial structures of different

mistletoe species (not specified) in stands of various

diversity suggest that increasing the diversity of the

hosts in the plantation may be a good way to reduce

mistletoe infection prevalence, and to increase the

productivity and efficiency.]

Sunitha, S.N. 2014. Regenerative effect of L-ascorbic acid

on the in vitro grown plants. British Biotechnology

Journal 4(12): 1238-1252. [Santalum album included in

studies indicating that L-ascorbic acid could be used as

a general growth enhancer and in the regeneration of

whole plants.]

Sweta Bhan, Lalit Mohan and Srivastava, C.N. 2015.

Combinatorial studies on thermosensitization of

nanoencapsulated temephos and Cuscuta reflexa.

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and

Bio-Science 4(1): 20-35. [A nano-formulation based on

the larvicide temephos and C. reflexa was tested on

larvae of Anopheles stephensi and Culex

quinquefasciatus at a range of temperatures and was

found efficient against both species at 20

C.]

Sweta Bhan, Lalit Mohan and Srivastava, C.N. 2015.

Photosensitization of nanoencapsulated temephos and

Cuscuta reflexa combination on mosquito larvae.

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and

Bio-Science, 4(1): 94-110. [Showing that activity of

nano-encapsulated temephos/C. reflexa on larvae of

Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus is

greater under fluorescent or UV light than in darkness.]

Syed Saeed-ul-Hassan, Shahid Rasool, Muhammad Khalil-

ur-Rehman, Saiqa Ishtiaq, Shahid-ul-Hassan and Imran

Waheed and Saeed, M.A. 2014. Phytochemical

investigation of irritant constituents of Cuscuta reflexa.

International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 16(6):

1194-1198. [C. reflexa can cause skin irritation. This

study isolated a number of components which were

confirmed to cause irritation to rabbit skin.]

Tájek, P. 2014. (Flora and vegetation of Horňáčkova louka

(Slavkovský les Protected Landscape Area, Czech

Republic).) (in Czech) Erica (Plzeň) 21: 3-37.

[Pedicularis sylvatica subsp. sylvatica among the more

important species recorded.]

Taneda, H., Watanabe-Taneda, A., Chhetry, R. and Ikeda,

H. 2015. A theoretical approach to the relationship

between wettability and surface microstructures of

epidermal cells and structured cuticles of flower petals.

Annals of Botany 115(6): 923-937. [A study in Japan

involving at least one species of Pedicularis.]

Tapsya Gautam, Gautam, S.P., Keservani, R.K. and

Sharma, A.K. 2015. Phytochemical screening and

wound healing potential of Cuscuta reflexa. Journal of

Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences 24(5): 292-302.

[Confirming that water and ethanolic extracts from C.

reflexa had therapeutic potential to heal wounds,

supporting its use in folk medicine in India.]

Teixeira-Costa, L. and Ceccantini, G. 2015. Embolism

increase and anatomical modifications caused by a

parasitic plant: Phoradendron crassifolium

(Santalaceae) on Tapirira guianensis (Anacardiaceae).

IAWA Journal 36(2): 138-151. [Showing that T.

guianensis wood expressed a higher density of

embolized vessels, narrower vessel lumen diameter,

higher vessel density, taller and wider rays, and fibres

with thinner cell walls, mainly in the downstream

sections of the parasitized branches. Apparently induced

by a combination of water stress, unbalanced

auxin/cytokinin concentrations due to phloem

disruptions caused by the parasite's penetration and

action; and by higher than usual ethylene levels.]

Teka, H.B. 2014. Advance research on Striga control: a

review. African Journal of Plant Science 8(11): 492-

506. [A general review advocating the use of integrated

control techniques.]

Teklay Abebe, Yemane Nega, Muez Mehari, Adhiena

Mesele, Assefa Workineh and Hadas Beyene. 2015.

Genotype by environment interaction of some faba bean

genotypes under diverse broomrape environments of

Tigray, Ethiopia. Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop

Science 7(3): 79-86. [Six faba bean genotypes were

tested across six environments for resistance to

Orobanche crenata. Line ILB4358 gave highest

consistent yield (approximately double that of the

susceptible check) and lower O. crenata numbers

followed by line Sel.F5/3382/2003-4.]

Těšitel, J.. Těšitelová, T., Fisher, J.P., Lepš, J. and

Cameron, D.D. 2015. Integrating ecology and

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

physiology of root-hemiparasitic interaction: interactive

effects of abiotic resources shape the interplay between

parasitism and autotrophy. New Phytologist 205(1): 350-

360. [Showing that mineral nutrition and water supply

had complex effects on the relative performance of

Rhinanthus alectorolophus and its maize or wheat hosts.

The effects of the parasite on the hosts were least when

nutrient and water supply were both either high or low.

Conversely the growth of the parasite was greater when

either water or nutrient were limiting – being greatest at

high nutrition and low water supply.]

Teves, M.R., Wendel, G.H. and Pelzer, L.E. 2015.

Reduction in voluntary ethanol intake following

repeated oral administration of Jodina rhombifolia

lyophilized aqueous extract in male Wistar rats. Journal

of Ethnopharmacology 161: 170-174. [The leaves of J.

rhombifolia (Santalaceae) are utilized in Argentine folk

medicine for the treatment of alcoholism. Repeated

administration of an extract of J. rhombifolia reduced

voluntary ethanol intake in male Wistar rats to a

‘remarkable’ extent.]

Togola, A., Karabinta, K., Dénou, A., Haidara, M., Sanogo,

R. and Diallo, E.D. 2014. (Protective effect of leaves of

Opilia celtidifolia against ethanol-induced ulcer in rats.)

(in French) International Journal of Biological and

Chemical Sciences 8(6): 2416-2423. [O. celtidifolia is a

plant traditionally used against wounds and gastro-

duodenal ulcer in Mali. Results confirm that leaves of O.

celtidifolia may be useful in the treatment of gastric

ulcer.]

Togor, G.C. and Burescu, P. 2013. Species-rich Nardus

grasslands from the northern part of the Bihor

Mountains. Studia Universitatis Vasile Goldis Arad,

Seria Stiintele Vietii, 2013, 23, 4, 505-512. [Including

reference to the ‘vulnerable species’ Pedicularis

limnogena. (In Romania).]

Tokunaga, T., Hayashi, H. and Akiyama, K. 2015.

Medicaol, a strigolactone identified as a putative

didehydro-orobanchol isomer, from Medicago

truncatula. Phytochemistry 111: 91-97. [A major

strigolactone produced by the model legume M.

truncatula (barrel medic) has been tentatively identified

as a didehydro-orobanchol isomer. In this study, a

putative didehydro-orobanchol isomer was isolated from

root exudates collected from M. trunculata grown

hydroponically under phosphate-starved conditions. The

structure and absolute configurations of this

strigolactone, named medicaol, were determined.

Plausible biosynthetic pathways from 4-

deoxyorobanchol to medicaol are also proposed.]

Trabelsi, I., Abbes, Z., Amri, M. and Kharrat, M. 2015.

Performance of faba bean genotypes with Orobanche

foetida Poir. and Orobanche crenata Forsk. infestation

in Tunisia. Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research

75(1): 27-34. [Seven new small-seeded faba bean

genotypes showed moderate to high resistance to both O.

foetida and O. crenata in field trials, better than released

‘resistant’ varieties Baraca and Najeh. Yield loss to O.

foetida was 92% in susceptible variety, 60% in Baraca

and only 14% in the best of the new lines.]

*Tröger, W., Ždrale, Z., Tišma, N. and Matijaševic´, M.

2014. Additional therapy with a mistletoe product

during adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer patients

improves quality of life: an open randomized clinical

pilot trial. Evidence-based Complementary and

Alternative Medicine 2014: Article ID 430518.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/430518/)

[A study on 95 patients showed a distinct improvement

of quality of life by treating breast cancer patients with

the Viscum album- based Helixor A in conjunction with

chemotherapy.]

Ueno, K. Furumoto, T., Umeda, S., Mizutani, M.,

Takikawa, H., Batchvarova, R. and Sugimoto, Y. 2014.

Heliolactone, a non-sesquiterpene lactone germination

stimulant for root parasitic weeds from sunflower.

Phytochemistry 108: 122-128. [Identifying heliolactone,

a carlactone-type molecule exuded by sunflower line

2607A, which induces germination of Striga

hermonthica, Orobanche cumana, O. minor, O. crenata,

and Phelipanche aegyptiaca while the related

dehydrocostus lactone and costunolide also from

sunflower root exudates, were effective only on O.

cumana and O. minor. Heliolactone exudation was

reduced by N and P, whereas costunolide exudation was

increased with higher fertility.]

Van Andel, T.R., Croft, S., van Loon, E.E., Quiroz, D.,

Towns, A.M. and Raes, N. 2015. Prioritizing West

African medicinal plants for conservation and

sustainable extraction studies based on market surveys

and species distribution models. Biological

Conservation 181: 173-181. [Recommending IUCN

threat status for four forest species not previously

assessed including Okoubaka aubrevillei (Santalaceae),

which has narrow distribution in West Africa and is

extensively commercialized.]

Vennila, V. and Anitha, R. 2015. In vitro evaluation of anti-

arthritic activity in different solvent extracts from

Cuscuta reflexa. World Journal of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences (WJPPS) 4(4): 1340-1350. [C.

reflexa is used for the treatment of arthritis in folklore

medicine in India. Results of this study confirmed

marked in vitro anti-arthritic activity against the

denaturation of protein.]

Vinay Ranjan and Anant Kumar. 2014. Scurrula

gracilifolia (Loranthaceae): a new distributional record

from Gorumara National Park, West Bengal. Indian

Journal of Forestry 37(4): 429-430. [No host

mentioned.]

Vishal Vijayan and Rahees, N. 2015. Seed germination of

sandal (Santalum album Linn.): influence of light

quality and seed scarification. Lifesciences Leaflets 59:

90-9. [Good germination of S. album obtained with GA

plus full white light. Very little germination under red or

blue light.]

Vogan, P.J. and Schoettle, A.W. 2015. Selection for

resistance to white pine blister rust affects the abiotic

stress tolerances of limber pine. Forest Ecology and

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Management 344: 110-119. [Incidentally noting

Arceuthobium cyanocarpum among factors causing

increasing mortality of Pinus flexilis in Colorado, USA.]

Von Schoen-Angerer, T., Goyert, A., Vagedes, J., Kiene,

H., Merckens, H. and Kienle, G.S. 2014. Disappearance

of an advanced Adenomatous colon polyp after

intratumoural injection with Viscum album (European

mistletoe) extract: a case report. Journal of

Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases 23(4): 449-452.

Wahid, H.A., Barozai, M.Y.K. and Muhammad Din. 2015.

Dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium oxycedri) and damage

caused by dwarf mistletoe to family Cupressaceae. Pure

and Applied Biology 4(1): 15-23. [A general review on

Arceuthobium spp. with particular emphasis on A.

oxycedri and its hosts in Cupressaceae.]

Wakabayashi, T., Joseph B,, Yasumoto S,, Akashi T., Aoki

T., Harada K., Muranaka S., Bamba T., Fukusaki E.,

Takeuchi Y., Yoneyama K., Muranaka T., Sugimoto Y.,

Okazawa A. 2015. Planteose as a storage carbohydrate

required for early stage of germination of Orobanche

minor and its metabolism as a possible target for

selective control. Journal of Experimental Botany

66(11): 3085-3097. [A galactosyl-sucrose trisaccharide,

planteose (α-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-

fructofuranosyl-(2→1)-α-d-glucopyranoside), was

identified in O. minor as a metabolite that decreased

promptly after reception of the germination stimulant.

Among several glycosidase inhibitors examined,

nojirimycin bisulfite (NJ) was found to alter the sugar

metabolism and to selectively inhibit the germination of

O. minor. These results suggest that planteose is a

storage carbohydrate required for early stage of

germination of O. minor, and NJ inhibits germination by

blocking the supply of essential glucose from planteose

and sucrose. Additionally, NJ selectively inhibited

radicle elongation of germinated seeds of Striga

hermonthica and Phtheirospermum japonicum. Thus, NJ

will be a promising tool to develop specific herbicides

for the parasites, especially broomrapes.]

Walter, M.H., Stauder, R. and Tissier, A. 2015. Evolution of

root-specific carotenoid precursor pathways for

apocarotenoid signal biogenesis. Plant Science 233:1-10.

[This review describes root-specific isogene components

of carotenoid pathways toward apocarotenoid formation,

highlighting a new PSY3 class of phytoene synthase

genes in dicots, clearly distinct from the monocot PSY3

class co-regulated with ABA formation. At least two

members of the exclusive dicot PSY3s are regulated by

nutrient stress and mycorrhization. This newly

recognized dicot PSY3 (dPSY3 vs. mPSY3 from

monocots) class probably represents an ancestral branch

in the evolution of the plant phytoene synthase family.

Stress-inducible isoforms for rate-limiting steps in root

carotenogenesis might be components of multi-enzyme

complexes committed to apocarotenoid rather than to

carotenoid formation.]

Wang ChunYang, Liu Yang, Li SiShen and Han GuanZhu.

2015. Insights into the origin and evolution of the plant

hormone signaling machinery. Plant Physiology 167(3):

872-886. [Use of comparative genomic and

phylogenetic approaches suggest that strigolactone

signaling pathways originated in charophyte lineages

along with those for auxin and cytokinin.]

Wang FengXia, Wang Wei, Huang YuLong, Liu

ZhongWang and Zhang Ji. 2015. Characterization of a

novel polysaccharide purified from a herb of

Cynomorium songaricum Rupr. Food Hydrocolloids 47:

79-86.

Wang LinLin, Ding Hui, Yu HeShui, Han LiFeng, Lai

QingHai, Zhang LiJuan and Song XinBo. 2015.

Cistanches Herba: chemical constituents and

pharmacological effects. Chinese Herbal Medicines

7(2): 135-142. [A general review of the pharmacological

uses of Cistanche deserticola and C. tubulosa, including

kidney-deficiency-induced diseases such as infertility,

forgetfulness, hearing lost, chronic constipation, etc. ;

also antioxidant, estrogenic, anti-osteoporotic, and anti-

inflammation effects.]

Wang LiSong, Jia Yu, Zhang XianChun, Qin HaiNing.

2015. (Overview of higher plant diversity in China.) (in

Chinese) Biodiversity Science 23(2): 217-224.

[Including some impressive statistics – the Chinese flora

includes over 35,000 spp. of higher plants (over 17,000

endemic) and noting that the top ten genera include

Pedicularis with 363 species, 283 of which are

endemic.]

Wang YuJie, Zhou SiMin, Xu Gang and Gao YuQi. 2015.

Interference of phenylethanoid glycosides from

Cistanche tubulosa with the MTT assay. Molecules

20(5): 8060-8071. [Concluding that the caffeyl group

present in echinacoside and acteoside, the two main

phenylethanoid glycosides from C. tubulosa, is

responsible for interfering with results of the MTT assay

for EA.hy926 cell viability.]

Webb, G., Mayer, R. and Thomson, R. 2014. Control of

meat ants (Iridomyrmex sanguineus Forel) in a Western

Australian sandalwood plantation using bait technology.

General and Applied Entomology 42: 43-49. [Addition

of fish oil to Distance® Ant Bait (pyriproxyfen)

appeared to enhance bait preference, but there was no

evident value in terms of reducing overall mound

activity in Santalum sp. not defined, but probably S.

spicatum.]

*Weon JinBae, Lee JiWoo, Eom MinRye, Jung YounSik

and Ma ChoongJe. 2014. The effects of Loranthus

parasiticus on scopolamine-induced memory

impairment in mice. Evidence-based Complementary

and Alternative Medicine 2014: Article ID 860180.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/860180/)

[Confirming memory enhancing and neuroprotective

effects of L. parasiticus (=Scurrula parasitica ) which

may be related to inhibition of AChE activity, ROS

level, and Ca

influx. L. parasiticus is used traditionally

in Korea for cholesterol lowing, diuretic action,

antibacterial effect, and antivirus effect.]

Wong HoiShan, Chen JiHang, Leong PouKuan, Leung

HoiYan, Chan WingMan and Ko KamMing. 2014. β-

Sitosterol protects against carbon tetrachloride

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

hepatotoxicity but not gentamicin nephrotoxicity in rats

via the induction of mitochondrial glutathione redox

cycling. Molecules 19(11): 17649-17662. [β-Sitosterol is

an active component of herbal remedies based on

Cistanche deserticola and/or C. tubulosa.]

Wu JianGuo, Wang YanYan, Zhang ZiLv and Yu Bin.

2015. Herbal medicine in the treatment of Alzheimer's

disease. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine 21(2):

102-107. [A review including reference to Cuscuta

chinensis.]

Xie XiaoYu, Wei Fen, Chen Liang and Wang SiCen 2015.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers based on

magnetic nanoparticles for the selective extraction of

protocatechuic acid from plant extracts. Journal of

Separation Science 38(6): 1046-1052. [The materials

prepared were used as the solid-phase extraction

materials coupled to high-performance liquid

chromatography for the selective extraction and

detection of protocatechuic acid from the extracts of

Cynomorium songaricum.]

*Xu SongZhi, Li DeZhu, Li JianWu, Xiang XiaoGuo, Jin

WeiTao, Huang WeiChang, Jin XiaoHua and Huang

LuQi. 2015. Evaluation of the DNA barcodes in

Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) from mainland Asia. PLoS

ONE 10(1) e0115168

(http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jour

nal.pone.0115168) [ITS+matK was the optimal barcode

for Dendrobium spp.; also for Pedicularis spp.]

Yau, T., Dan XiuLi, Ng CheukWing and Ng TziBun. 2015.

Lectins with potential for anti-cancer therapy. Molecules

20(3): 3791-3810. [A review covering lectins from

Viscum album.]

Yang, Z.Z., Wafula, E.K., Honaas, L.A., Zhang, H.T.,

Das, M., Fernandez-Aparicio, M., Huang, K.,

Bandaranayake, P.C.G., Wu, B., Der, J.P., Clarke,

C.R., Ralph, P.E., Landherr, L., Altman, N.S.,

Timko, M.P., Yoder, J.I., Westwood, J.H., de

Pamphilis, C.W. 2015. Comparative transcriptome

analyses reveal core parasitism genes and suggest

gene duplication and repurposing as sources of

structural novelty. Molecular Biology and Evolution

32(3): 767-790. [This is another important paper

from the Parasitic Plant Genome Project that has

contributed much to our understanding of these

fascinating plants. Gene duplication is suggested as

one of the pathways for a plant to move from being

an autotrophic plant to a parasitic one. They found

that about 180 genes are upregulated during

haustorial development and that an additional 100

shared genes are upregulated in response to factors

that induce haustorial development. The authors

have coined the term ‘parasitism genes’ for these

genes that enrich proteaeses and modify cell walls—

functions needed for penetration and parasitism of a

host.]

Yaacoby, T., Goldwasser, Y., Paporish, A. and Rubin, B.

2015. Germination of Phelipanche aegyptiaca and

Cuscuta campestris seeds in composted farm manure.

Crop Protection 72: 76-82. [A temperature of 55

C in

compost or the lab for 5-6 hours was enough to kill all

P. aegyptiaca seeds but some C. campestris seeds

survived 60

C for at least 28 days.]

Yasunaga, T., Yamada, K. and Artchawakom, T. 2015.

First Indochinese records of the plant bug genus

Hypseloecus Reuter (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae:

Phylinae: Pilophorini), with descriptions of eight new

species from Thailand. Zootaxa 3925(1): 75-93. [Eight

new species of Hypseloecus are described, 4 of which

being associated with inflorescence and/or fruits of

Loranthaceae, particularly Scurrula spp. in Thailand.

These are additional to those reported by Yeshwant,

2014 – see below.]

Yeshwant, H.M. 204. Five new species of Hypseloecus

Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae) on hemiparasitic Santalales

from India., Zootaxa 3878(1): 75-88. [The genus is

recorded for the first time from India, collected on

Dendrophthoe and Viscum species.]

Yohannes, T., Abraha, T., Kiambi, D., Folkertsma, R.,

Hash, C.T., Ngugi, K., Mutitu, E., Abraha, N.,

Weldetsion, M., Mugoya, C., Masiga, C.W. and de

Villiers, S. 2015. Marker-assisted introgression

improves Striga resistance in an Eritrean Farmer-

Preferred Sorghum Variety. Field Crops Research 173:

22-29. [Using marker-assisted selection in the transfer

of 5 Striga-resistance Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs)

from the resistant donor N13 to the local Striga

susceptible farmer-preferred sorghum variety Hugurtay.

Lines L2P3-B, L1P5-A and L2P5P35 were less resistant

than N-13 but had 40% less S. hermonthica and yielded

double that of Hugurtay.]

Yoneyama, K., Arakawa, R., Ishimoto, K., Kim HyunIl,

Kisugi, T. Xie XiaoNan, Nomura, T., Kanampiu, F.,

Yokota, T., Ezawa, T. and Yoneyama, K. 2015.

Difference in Striga-susceptibility is reflected in

strigolactone secretion profile, but not in

compatibility and host preference in arbuscular

mycorrhizal symbiosis in two maize cultivars. New

Phytologist 206(3): 983-989. [Striga-susceptible

(Pioneer 3253) exuded 5-deoxystrigol exclusively

while the resistant (KST 94) exuded mainly

sorgomol. Regardless of this striking difference there

were no differences in the level or composition of

mycorrhizal infection. This is encouraging in that

selection for low Striga-stimulating strigolactone may

not necessarily interfere with normal mycorrhizal

symbiosis.]

Yoneyama, K., Kisugi, T., Xie, X., Arakawa, R., Ezawa, T.,

Nomura, T. and Yoneyama, K. 2015. Shoot-derived

signals other than auxin are involved in systemic

regulation of strigolactone production in roots. Planta

241(3): 687-698. [N and P applied to one side in a split-

root system reduced strigolactone content (sorgomol and

5-deoxystrigol) of both parts of the sorghum root

system. The results of applying auxin (IAA) to the

shoots suggest that shoot-derived signals other than

auxin are involved in the regulation of strigolactone

production in roots.]

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

Yong, JWH, Wei, JW, Khew, JYT, Rong, SC, and San,

WW. 2015. A guide to the common epiphytes and

mistletoes of Singapore. CENGAGE Learning (Center

for Urban Greenery and Ecology). 276 pp. [This book

takes a functional approach to classifying the aerial

parasites of Singapore, as epiphytes, climbers, and

mistletoes. Good descriptions, host ranges, and

photographs are provided for the eight mistletoes (6

Loranthaceae, 2 Viscacaceae) known from the city-

state.]

Yu Jiang, Zeng BangGuo and Xiao LongXiang. 2014.

(Determination of verbascoside, luteolin and apigenin in

Siphonostegia chinensis by HPLC.) (in Chinese)

Chongqing Medicine 43(23): 23, 3040-3041.

Yu WenBin, Wang Hong, Ren YongQuan and Li DeZhu

2015. Typification of seven Chinese species of

Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) described by Bureau and

Franchet with taxonomic notes. Plant Ecology and

Evolution 148(1): 144-148. [Recording lectotypes of P.

batangensis, P. birostris, P. goniantha, P. microphyton,

P. princeps, P. rhynchodonta and P. tatsienensis.]

Zekry, S.H., Abo-elmatty, D.M., Zayed, R.A., Radwan,

M.M., ElSohly, M.A., Hassanean, H.A. and Ahmed,

S.A. 2015. Effect of metabolites isolated from Cuscuta

pedicellata on high fat diet-fed rats. Medicinal

Chemistry Research 24(5): 1964-1973. [Confirming the

anti-obesity effect of C. pedicellata reported by the

Egyptian population and identifying the main

compounds responsible for this activity, including

naringenin.].

Zarafi, A.B., Elzein, A., Abdulkadir, D.I., Beed, F. and

Akinola, O.M. 2014. Host range studies of Fusarium

oxysporum f.sp. strigae meant for the biological control

of Striga hermonthica on maize and sorghum. Archives

of Phytopathology and Plant Protection 48(1): 1, 1-9.

[Isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. strigae PSM197

and FOXY2s which have been reported effective against

S. hermonthica were screened for safety on 26 Nigerian

crop species and a number of them showed growth

reduction and/or infection, suggesting the need for

further study.]

*Zhang DaLe, Qi JinFeng, Yue JiPei, Huang JinLing, Sun

Ting, Li SuoPing, Wen JianFan, Hettenhausen, C., Wu

JinSong, Wang Lei, Zhuang HuiFu, Wu JianQiang and

Sun GuiLing. 2014. Root parasitic plant Orobanche

aegyptiaca and shoot parasitic plant Cuscuta australis

obtained Brassicaceae-specific strictosidine synthase-

like genes by horizontal gene transfer. BMC Plant

Biology 14(19)(13 January 2014)

(http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2229-

14-19.pdf) [Transcriptome screening revealed that a

strictosidine synthase-like (SSL) gene in the root

parasitic plant O.aegyptiaca and the shoot parasitic plant

C. australis showed much higher sequence similarities

with those in Brassicaceae than with those in their close

relatives, suggesting independent gene horizontal

transfer events from Brassicaceae to these parasites.]

*Zhang Ke and 12 others. 2014. Extracts of Cistanche

deserticola can antagonize immunosenescence and

extend life span in senescence-accelerated mouse prone

8 (SAM-P8) mice. Evidence-based Complementary and

Alternative Medicine, 2014, 2014, Article ID 601383.

(http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/601383/)

[Results support long standing clinical observational

studies showing that C. deserticola has significant

effects in extending life span and suggest this is

achieved by antagonizing immunosenescence.]

Zhou ShengLiang, Yan ShuZhen, Liu QiSha and Chen

ShuangLin. 2015. Diversity of endophytic fungi

associated with the foliar tissue of a hemi-parasitic plant

Macrosolen cochinchinensis. Current Microbiology

70(1): 58-66. [Identifying 51 taxa of endophytic fungi in

the leaves of M. cochinchinensis, the most abundant

being Valsa spp. and including a Tremella spp., perhaps

for the first time as an endophyte.]

Zitta, C., Magani, E.I. and Ahom, R.I. 2014. Effects of

varying levels of Parkia biglobosa pulp for the control

of Striga genesnerioides (WILD) in cowpea Vigna

unguiculata (L) WALP. Journal of Biopesticides 7(2):

137-143. [Application of 2, 3 and 4 g/hill of Parkia pulp

before planting significantly reduced the number of

cowpea plants infested with S. gesnerioides and reduced

Striga shoot count and seed production. Crop yields

were not significantly increased but crop vigour was

improved. See also Itta, C.Z. et al. above for similar

results a year later? Itta/Zitta related?)]

Zuria, I., Castellanos, I. and Gates, J.E. 2014. The influence

of mistletoes on birds in an agricultural landscape of

central Mexico. Acta Oecologica 61: 51-56. [Thirty-one

percent of the trees surveyed (mainly Prosopis

laevigata) were infected by Psittacanthus calyculatus.

There was a significant association between bird species

richness and bird abundance with number of P.

calyculatus confirming that mistletoes can be important

in promoting a higher bird species richness and

abundance in tropical agricultural landscapes.]

IPPS MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the IPPS is open to individuals and

organizations of all nations that are interested in the

objectives of the Society.

Membership fee for 2 years is 50 € and will be included in

the registration for the IPPS meeting (WCCP).

To obtain a Registration Form visit the IPPS website

(http://www.parasiticplants.org/) or contact:

Dr. Philippe Simier

Laboratoire de Biologie et Pathologie Végétales (LBPV)

IFR 149 Qualité et Santé du Végétal (QUASAV)

Université de Nantes

2 rue de la Houssinière BP 92208

44322 Nantes Cedex 03

France

HAUSTORIUM 67 July 2015

HAUSTORIUM 67

has been edited by Chris Parker, 5 Royal York Crescent,

Bristol BS8 4JZ, UK (Email

chrisparker5@compuserve.com), Lytton Musselman,

Parasitic Plant Laboratory, Department of Biological

Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk Virginia

23529-0266, USA (fax 757 683 5283; Email

lmusselm@odu.edu) and Hinanit Koltai, Dept of

Ornamental Horticulture, Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO

Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel

(hkoltai@agri.gov.il) with valued assistance from Dan

Nickrent, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA. It

is produced and distributed by Chris Parker and published

by Old Dominion University (ISSN 1944-6969).

Your editors at Kunming:

L .to R. Chris Parker, Hinanit Koltai and Lytton Musselman

Send material for publication to any of the editors.

NB. Haustorium is no longer distributed in hard-copy form.

It is available by email free of charge and may also be

down-loaded from the IPPS web-site (see above).

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Potential Differences between Cynomorium coccineum L. Growing in Italy and in Tunisia: Effect of Environmental Stress

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2018
Diversity

Cynomorium coccineum is a parasitic plant that has been known for centuries in ethnopharmacology. However, its biological activities have been scarcely studied, particularly in the case of plant grown in North Africa. Thus, we compared the chemical composition and antioxidant potential of C. coccineum taken from two regions characterized by very different climates: the Tataouine region in southeast Tunisia, which lies near the desert, and Sardinia in south Italy, which lies near the coast. The antioxidant potential of freeze-dried specimens from the hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanolic, and aqueous extracts was tested using both electron transfer (ET) methods (i.e., TEAC-ABTS, FRAP, and DPPH) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) assay (ORAC-PYR). The metabolic profiles of both the methanolic and aqueous extracts were further investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. We also obtained fixed oils by supercritical fractioned extraction (SFE) with CO2. GC and HPLC were then used combined to determine the fatty acids profile. All extracts showed significantly different antioxidant capacities. 1H NMR spectroscopy showed evidence for the presence of amino acids, organic acids, and carbohydrates. The main fatty acids in the oils were 18:1 n-9, 18:2 n-6, 16:0, and 18:3 n-3. All the results showed a difference in chemical composition that influenced the total antioxidant power and the biological activity, verifying that climate affects the chemical composition of plants.

Physical-chemical characteristics and antioxidant potential of seed and pulp of Ximenia americana L. from the semiarid region of Brazil

Article

Full-text available

May 2015
AFR J BIOTECHNOL

Ximenia americana popularly known as wild plum grow wildly in Brazilian semiarid region and its fruit were harvested in two maturity stages and evaluated for quality. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments (immature, mature pulp and seeds), and treatment effect was evaluated for pulp fraction (composed of both mesocarp and exocarp or peel) in maturation stages: immature (largest size with green colored peel), mature (largest size with yellow colored peel) and seeds of mature fruits, from eight repetitions of 25 fruits each, totaling 200 fruits per treatment. Fruit were separated and evaluated for physical and physicochemical variables, mineral composition, bioactive compounds content and total antioxidant activity (TAA). The X. americana grown in Brazilian semiarid region presents a great potential to further commercial exploitation. The pulp, aside its maturation stage contains high levels of lipids, proteins, sugars, starch, titratable acidity, vitamin C, yellow flavonoids, polyphenols and antioxidant activity. The seed also presents high levels of lipid, protein, starch, total extractable polyphenols and antioxidant activity. Imature pulp stands out for acidity, polyphenol, flavonoid and anthcyanin levels, while mature fruit pulp has higher yield, sugar and vitamin C levels. Seeds have higher starch, protein and lipi levels. The antioxidant activity found for wild plum pulp could be attributed to polyphenol and vitamin C contents; meanwhile, the antioxidant activity of seeds was dependent only on polyphenolic content. Pulp had higher Na, K, Mg, Ca and Fe levels, however, both seed and pulp fractions have substantial contents of P, K, Cu and Mn.

Antiproliferative Effect of Viscum album Alcoholic Extract In vitro

Article

Full-text available

May 2015

Viscum album (VA), is a hemi-parasitic plant that grows on various trees. VA has a long tradition as medicinal plant, being used in traditional medicine. Recently, many in vitro and in vivo experimental studies investigate the antitumor properties of VA extracts. The assessment of antiproliferative effect was performed both on normal human fibroblasts (Hfl) and on a tumor cell line (Hela). The cell cytotoxicity assay was performed using the MTT test as specified by the manufacturer. Cell viability is gradually reduced in HeLa tumor cells line fromÂ 44.58% at 5 Âµg/ml VA extract, to 9.35% at the dose of 50 I¼g / ml. HFL cells are not affected in the same manner by the extract, 63.65% Â of these cells are viable at 50I¼g / ml, the highest dose tested. In conclusion, VA provides a significant, selective antitumor effect on cell culture models

Potential of Rhizobacteria for Promoting Sorghum Growth and Suppressing Striga hermonthica Development

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2015
J PLANT DIS PROTECT

The objective of this study was to screen the potential of four plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for growth promotion in sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ) and suppression of Striga hermonthica development. Bacillus subtilis Bsn5, B. subtilis GBO3, B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 and Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN were evaluated under controlled conditions in growth chambers. After 28 days of growth, the effect of selected PGPR on sorghum plant height, leaf chlorophyll (SPAD) value, biomass dry matter (DM), number of germinated and attached Striga plants and number of Striga plants that developed tubercles was analyzed. Inoculated Striga -free sorghum plants were significantly taller, with higher leaf chlorophyll SPAD values and higher dry matter than uninoculated Striga -free plants. However, there were no differences in sorghum height, SPAD value and DM between inoculated and uninoculated Striga -infected sorghum plants. In the absence of PGPR inoculation, differences in DM were observed between Striga -free and Striga -infected sorghum. Compared to the untreated control, Striga seed germination was lower in the sorghum plants treated with B. subtilis GBO3 and B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42. Of the germinated Striga seeds, the percentage that attached tothe sorghum plant was lowest (23 %) in the B. subtilis GBO3 treatment. The percentage of dead Striga tubercles in the PGPR treatments ranged between 35 and 59 %, compared to 3 % in the untreated control. This study identified B. subtilis GBO3, B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 and Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN with promising potential to promote sorghum growth and suppress Striga .

INFLUENCE OF STRUCTURE OF VEGETATION IN THE SELECTION OF DIET BY SHEEP IN CERRADO AREA

Research

Full-text available

May 2015

The feeding preference of sheep in the rainy season was by the species of herbaceous stratum, in the dry period by the species of the tree and re-generating strata. These species are structural bio-indicators of the Cerrado biome, for the grazing of sheep. It is necessary to evaluate, identify and quantify the chemical compounds of selected vegetal species because these can act as nutritional bio-indicators and potential in sheep feeding.

Typification of seven Chinese species of Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) described by Bureau and Franchet with taxonomic notes

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2015

Wen-Bin Yu

Background – Seven species of Pedicularis (P. batangensis, P. birostris, P. goniantha, P. microphyton, P. princeps, P. rhynchodonta and P. tatsienensis) described by Bureau & Franchet are based on collections made by Prince Henri d'Orléans in 1890. Because these specimens lack collection numbers Bureau & Franchet merely described their provenance in the protologue, which has created much subsequent difficulty for authors seeking to access the types. Material and Methods – Type materials conserved at P were seen and accessed online through high quality digital photographs. Other materials conserved at CDBI, F, GH, KUN NY, PE, and US were also examined. Key results – The lectotypes for seven names are designated. In addition, P. przewalskii var. hirsuta H.L.Li is newly reduced to synonym of P. przewalskii subsp. microphyton (≡ P. microphyton), and P. rhynchodonta f. maxima is also lectotypified herein.

Effect of metabolites isolated from Cuscuta pedicellata on high fat diet-fed rats

Article

Full-text available

May 2015

The aim of the present study was to determine if Cuscuta pedicellata extract has an effect on body weight and serum lipid profile in the HFD-fed rats’ animal model. The ethanol extract of C. pedicellata exhibited a significant reduction in body weight and serum lipid profile in this model. The n-hexane/EtOAc (1:1), EtOAc and MeOH/EtOAc (1:1) fractions were also active, while the MeOH fraction showed no beneficial effect. Bioactivity-guided fractionation leads to the isolation of ten pure compounds: naringenin (1), kaempferol (2), aromadenderin (3), quercitin (4), 3,5,7,3′,5′-pentahydroxy flavanone (5), naringenin -7-O-β-d-glucoside (6), aromadenderin -7-O-β-d-glucoside (7), Taxifolin -7-O-β-d-glucoside (8), kaempferol -3-O-β-d-glucoside (astragalin), (9) and quercitin -3-O-β-d-glucoside (isoquercitrin) (10). This is the first report of compounds 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in Cuscuta pedicellata. Compound 1 > compound 8 > compound 3 > compound 7 > compound 4 > compound 2 are responsible for the potency of the ethanol extract, while compound 6 was only effective in reducing the total cholesterol serum levels but not effective in reducing the level of triglycerides or the body weight. Our data confirmed the anti-obesity effect of C. pedicellata reported by the Egyptian population and identified the compounds responsible for this activity.

Investigations on Faba Beans , Vicia Faba L. 35. Selection Methods vs. Original Seeds of Variety Cairo 5 from Healthy and Infected Fields Evaluated Under Orobanche Infestation

Article

Jan 2014

Investigations on Faba Beans , Vicia Faba L. 36. Selection Methods vs. Original Seeds of Variety Cairo 25 from Healthy and Infested Fields Evaluated Under Orobanche Stress

Article

Jan 2014

Mining Efficient Fuzzy Bio-Statistical Rules for Association of Sandalwood in Pachaimalai Hills

Article

Apr 2015

The integration of association rules and correlation rules with fuzzy logic can produce more abstract and flexible patterns for many real life problems, since many quantitative features in real world, especially surveying the frequency of plant association in any region is fuzzy in nature. This paper presents a modification of a previously reported algorithm for mining fuzzy association and correlation rules, defines the concept of fuzzy partial and semi-partial correlation rule mining, and presents an original algorithm for mining fuzzy data based on correlation rule mining. It adds a regression model to the procedure for mining fuzzy correlation rules in order to predict one data instance from contributing more than others. It also utilizes statistical analysis for the data and the experimental results show a very high utility of fuzzy association rules and fuzzy correlation rule mining in modeling plant association problems. The newly proposed algorithm is utilized for seeking close associations and relationships between a group of plant species clustering around Sandalwood in Pachaimalai hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamilnadu.

Regenerative Effect of L-Ascorbic Acid on the in vitro Grown Plants

Article

Jan 2014

S. Sunitha

The wondrous Cynomorium

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