Abstract Detail

After the book - Progress in parasitic plant research since Kuijt's Biology of Parasitic Flowering Plants (1969)

Press, Malcolm C. [1].

Physiological traits of root hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae (ex-Scrophulariaceae): implications for community structure and function.

Parasitic angiosperms exhibit a number of distinct physiological traits. Using root hemiparasitic members of the Orobanchaceae (ex-Scrophulariaceae) as model group, these traits will be examined and related to the impact of the parasites on community structure and function. Key traits include the following: high transpiration rates; competition with the host from nutrients and haustorial metabolism of host-derived solutes; uptake of host-derived secondary metabolites; dual autotrophic and heterotrophic carbon nutrition; distinct carbohydrate biochemistry – storage of polyols; high nutrient concentrations in green leaf tissue and leaf litter; and small (often hairless and non-mycorrhizal) roots. The implications of these traits for a number of interactions will be considered, including: between host and parasite; competition between host and non-host angiosperms (species hierarchies); interactions between angiosperms and soil microorganisms (including decomposition); and interactions with higher trophic levels (herbivores and pollinators).

1 - University of Sheffield, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

Keywords:
ecophysiology
Orobanchaceae
parasitic plants
physiology.

Presentation Type: Symposium
Session: 4-3
Location: Ballroom 2 (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Time: 9:00 AM
Abstract ID:886