The Cuscute, a parasitic plant that can control the genes of its host plant

Research suggests that Cuscute, a parasitic plant, is able to regulate the gene expression of its host plant to disable these defense mechanisms. This is the first time that this process has been discovered in a parasitic plant and this could offer some ways to create resistance in agricultural plants.

Cuscute, a parasitic plant, may use MicroRNA in its host plant to disable the expression of genes associated with defense mechanisms 

Cuscute, a parasitic plant that causes significant crop damage in the United States and around the world each year, can reduce gene expression in host plants from which it gets water and nutrients. This inter-species gene regulation, which includes genes that contribute to the host plant's defense against parasites, has never been observed before in a parasitic plant. Understanding this system could provide researchers with a method for designing parasite-resistant plants. The paper describing the research by a team that includes scientists at Penn State and Virginia Tech was published in the journal Nature.

The Cuscute is a mandatory parasite which means it can not live alone according to Michael J. Axtell, professor of biology at Penn State and an author of the article. Unlike most plants that receive energy through photosynthesis, dodder siphon water and nutrients from other plants by connecting to the host's vascular system using structures called haustoria. We have been able to show that in addition to the flow of nutrients to the Cuscute from the host plant, the dodder also passes the microRNA which regulates the expression of the genes of the host in a very direct way.

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