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parasiticplants.bsky.social
International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
@parasiticplants.bsky.social
86 followers 47 following 87 posts
Welcome to the account of the International Parasitic Plant Society (IPPS)! Follow us for updates on the latest research, the diversity, and the impact on agriculture of these fascinating organisms!
For more, visit or join https://www.parasiticplants.org
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Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
royalsocietypublishing.org
A structural solution to functional HGT: Gene chimerism bypasses mitochondrial expression barriers in parasitic plants doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #ProcB #Evolution #Genomics #PlantScience
June 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
burg.bsky.social
the seeing a weird plant on a hike to attending a natural history society parasitic plants presentation pipeline
zoom presentation slide listing types of parasites with a few examples, including bear corn
April 16, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
cyanotrans.bsky.social
Vestigial Plastids in Parasitic Plants: Evolutionary Remnants or Adaptive Innovations? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Vestigial Plastids in Parasitic Plants: Evolutionary Remnants or Adaptive Innovations?
Recent progress in our understanding of the biology of vestigial plastids is reviewed, exploring their unique evolution, morphology and functions.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 20, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantphys.bsky.social
A quinone signaling inhibitor enables functional dissection of haustorium-inducing factors in Orobanchaceae parasitic plants (Saori Suga , Ryoga Inoue , Syogo Wada , Yumiko Shirano , et al) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial
A quinone signaling inhibitor enables functional dissection of haustorium-inducing factors in Orobanchaceae parasitic plants
An identified small molecule blocks early haustorium formation in parasitic plants by interfering with quinone signaling, enabling studies of plant chemica
doi.org
May 20, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantcellphysiol.bsky.social
📢Our bumper Special Issue on #ParasiticPlants is finally out!

👉 academic.oup.com/pcp/issue/67/4

💐Special thanks to organising editors: Satoko Yoshida, Atsushi Okazawa, Thomas Spallek, Kaori Yoneyama

🆓Read Editorial: doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

#PlantScience
@academic.oup.com
@jspp-news.bsky.social
Plant & Cell Physiology issue cover for the special issue on parasitic plants showing various images of parasitic plant species.
May 22, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantcellphysiol.bsky.social
📶Mixed signals...?

Zhang & Shen et al. review the systemic signals, mRNAs, sRNAs, & proteins that are transferred between parasitic #dodder plants and their hosts, as well as their physiological/ecological effects on #ParasiticPlants interactions🌿

See paper: doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

#PlantScience
Representative photos of 12 parasitic plants from figure 1 of Jingxiong Zhang, Guojing Shen, Songkui Cui, Wentao Wang, Jianqiang Wu, Interplant signal transduction between dodder (Cuscuta) and their hosts, Plant and Cell Physiology, Volume 67, Issue 4, April 2026, Pages 394–402, https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcaf117
May 26, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantcellphysiol.bsky.social
Featured Authors & Research Highlights from our special issue on #ParasiticPlants

🌟Organellar genome reconfiguration in Broomrapes @susannwicke.bsky.social
🌟Different host range specificities in Orobanche
🌟Light regulation of Dodder plant parasitism

academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/re...

#PlantScience
Images of the three first authors (with names beneath each one) from the featured papers in April's special issue on parasitic plants; read more info here https://academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/research-highlights-2026-04
May 28, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantcellphysiol.bsky.social
Damage limitation...

van Wüllen et al. @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social explore the role of #phytohormones during the various stages of parasitism, expose knowledge gaps in the field, & propose novel strategies to help limit agricultural damage by parasitic plants

doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

#PlantScience
schematic illustration of the role of plant hormones during infection by a parasitic plant resulting in formation of a root lateral haustorium. Image taken from Figure 1 of Anna K van Wüllen, Martina Leso, Brikti Ferede Hailu, Kirsten Krause, Charles W Melnyk, The role of hormones in parasitic plant infection, Plant and Cell Physiology, Volume 67, Issue 4, April 2026, Pages 414–426, https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcaf132
May 28, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
aspbplantbiology.bsky.social
📣#PlantBio2026 daily highlight: Parasitic Plants - An Increasing Threat to Global Food Security and Livelihoods Concurrent Session!🌱 plantbiology2026.eventscribe.net/index.asp

#plantscience #plantsci
Concurrent Session Graphic highlighting session detail.
May 28, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
annbot.bsky.social
🔥ADVANCE ACCESS🔥: A reference genome and transcriptome of haustorial development in Pedicularis groenlandica reveal diverse trajectories of haustoria-associated gene evolution in parasitic plants
doi.org/10.1093/aob/...

#PlantScience
Validate User
doi.org
June 1, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
christoptomus.bsky.social
Dodder. Nifty parasitic plant.

Possibly native? Hard to know which species.
Dodder, a parasitic plant, is draped over plants like someone threw orange spaghetti over a plant. Closer look at the dodder vine.
June 3, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
plantcellphysiol.bsky.social
Going Viral...

Zhang et al. have functionally characterised two avirulence factors in the haustorial secretome of the parasitic weed Striga gesnerioides L. (Walp), providing new insight into the mechanisms by which #ParasiticPlants trigger host defense responses

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...
Schematic diagram illustrating the three proposed models of 1) Avr activation, 2) effector suppression, and 3) potentiation of host HR in cowpea–S. gesnerioides interactions in wild-type and transgenic plants. Taken from figure 6 of Danhua Zhang, Hai Liu, Michael P Timko, Functional characterization of avirulence factors in the haustorial secretome of the parasitic weed Striga gesnerioides L. (Walp), Plant and Cell Physiology, Volume 67, Issue 4, April 2026, Pages 504–518, https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcaf054
June 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
wyliehorn.bsky.social
Yellow Rattle, Rhinanthus minor, growing in a lawn on its way to becoming a small wildflower meadow. #NoMowSummer #WildflowerHour
The complex inflated calyx and hooded yellow flowers of yellow rattle. The image also shows the plants' opposite, toothed, green leaves. The plants are growing amongst grasses on which they are hemi-parasitic.
June 7, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
journalofecology.bsky.social
🌳Despite the unique biology of European mistletoe, a new study finds that it's demographic strategy is similar to that of non-parasitic plants @biolliegist.bsky.social 👉️ buff.ly/H8YRVHt
June 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
oscvanjazz.bsky.social
Orobanche hederae! (Ivy broomrape)

This is the first time I’ve photographed a specimen of this genus.

These are parasitic plants (in this case, ivy parasites) that typically live by parasitizing the roots of ivy. They are unable to synthesize chlorophyll, so they feed on the sap of their host.
June 9, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
ucanr.edu
#UCCE and #UCDavis researchers are helping CA’s #tomato industry combat branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that threatens crop production. Through research, field testing, & industry partnerships, they are developing sanitation & management strategies.
bit.ly/4e37sa1

A garden scene with lush green plants, including ripe red and yellow tomatoes. In the foreground, a cluster of pale purple flowers is emerging from the soil. Image showing a close-up view of a John Deere baler's interior, with large tires on either side. The machinery is filled with accumulated vegetation and debris.
June 11, 2026 at 4:03 AM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
#parasiticplants
danjbrown97.bsky.social Daniel Brown @danjbrown97.bsky.social · Jun 11
Ivy broomrape in Winchester this evening
A photo of a group of ivy broomrape, parasitic plants, with ivy leaves and bramble leaves around it
June 18, 2026 at 3:57 PM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
New Post: The pollination syndrome of parasitic plants depends on the environment www.parasiticplants.org/2026/05/the-...
May 26, 2026 at 12:37 PM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
New Post: Haustorium 89 Now Online www.parasiticplants.org/2026/05/haus...
May 22, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
royalsocietypublishing.org
New research from #ProcB: Can ecological interactions drive evolutionary outcomes? Evidence from insect host shifts between parasitic and non-parasitic plants royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... | #Ecology #Evolution #Genomics
April 8, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
kimiroar.bsky.social
They've been flowering for a few weeks now, and I've been meaning to post them. Here's one of my favorite PARASITIC plants, Aphyllon purpureum! Known for mostly using Sedum sp. as hosts, I've been finding many more on a species of very invasive Geranium lucidum. Which is perhaps a new adaptation!
Aphyllon purpureum growing on highly invasive Geranium lucidum. Close up of the Aphyllon purpureum flowers. Showing the pale purple colors and bright yellow folds, which I *THINK* serve as nectary guides? Aphyllon purpureum growing from a species of Sedum (stonecrop) which it is mostly adapted to. This also shows the more mature plants after flowering, dying back slightly and producing the bulbous fruiting body containing the seeds. Straight on view of the Aphyllon purpureum flowers, showing the tubular form
May 8, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by International Parasitic Plant Society - IPPS
tamranger.bsky.social
Time for some parasitic plants in the Lost Sierra #snowplant #spottedcoralroot #wildflowers #naturephotography #sierranevada
May 18, 2026 at 3:01 AM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
New Post: Integrated biological management reduces Striga and improves sorghum growth www.parasiticplants.org/2026/03/inte...
March 29, 2026 at 3:36 AM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
New Post: Assisting species differentiation and taxonomic classification by hyperspectral imaging: an example from the parasitic plant realm www.parasiticplants.org/2026/03/assi...
March 24, 2026 at 12:37 PM
parasiticplants.bsky.social
New Post: The 18th WCPP has been postponed www.parasiticplants.org/2026/03/the-...
March 13, 2026 at 1:30 PM