Grand-scale theft: kleptoplasty in parasitic plants?

Kirsten Krause

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2015.03.005

Grand-scale theft: kleptoplasty in parasitic plants?

Trends Plant Sci. 2015 Apr;20(4):196-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.03.005. Epub 2015 Mar 17.

Author

Kirsten Krause¹

Affiliation

¹ Department for Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT/The Arctic University of Norway, Dramsvegen 201, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway. Electronic address: kirsten.krause@uit.no.

PMID: 25795238
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.03.005

Abstract

The angiosperm Rafflesia lives as an obligate holoparasite in intimate contact with its hosts, vines in the genus Tetrastigma. The hosts are forced to supply the parasite with all the necessary nutrients. Novel data tentatively suggest that the thievery may happen on a larger scale and include entire organellar genomes.

Keywords: Rafflesia; kleptoplasty; parasitic plants; plastid genome evolution; plastid genome loss.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Evolution, Molecular
Genome, Plant*
Magnoliopsida / genetics
Magnoliopsida / parasitology*
Magnoliopsida / physiology*
Plastids / genetics*
Vitaceae / parasitology