Welcome to Parasitic Plant Database!
Database Introduction
This database currently contains genome data of three parasitic plant species—Cuscuta spp. (dodders), Gastrodia elata (tianma), Orobanche spp. (broomrapes)—and the fungal genus Armillaria spp., which serves as the host fungus for Gastrodia elata. Details are as follows:
Cuscuta spp. - Stem parasitic plants with global distribution, the only parasitic lineage in Convolvulaceae, and holoparasitic plants without leaves or roots, containing very little or no chlorophyll. Genome data for two main research species, Cuscuta campestris and Cuscuta australis, have been released.
Gastrodia elata - An orchid (Orchidaceae) that obtains nutrients for growth by parasitizing fungi (Armillaria spp. and Mycena spp.), making it an ideal model for studying the interactions and coevolution between mycoheterotrophic plants and fungi.
Orobanche spp. - Members of Orobanchaceae, the largest family of parasitic plants, which includes autotrophic and parasitic species with all degrees of parasitism. This family is an ideal group for studying the origin and evolution of plant parasitism. Two high-quality genomes of orobanchaceous plants are provided here, including the holoparasitic plants Phelipanche aegyptiaca and Orobanche cumana.
Armillaria spp. - The genus Armillaria (Basidiomycota, Agaricales, Physalacriaceae) includes pathogenic fungi that cause root-rot disease in plants, as well as low-pathogenicity species, some of which serve as hosts for the fully mycoheterotrophic orchid Gastrodia elata. Establishing genetic transformation platforms for Armillaria fungi and G. elata is crucial to investigate the mechanisms underlying their special interactions.
For further inquires and requests, please contact Dr. Jianqiang Wu (wujianqiang(at)mail.kib.ac.cn; note: please replace (at) with @).
Please cite the following paper when you use data of Parasitic Plant Database in your work:
Yuxing Xu, Jingxiong Zhang, Canrong Ma, Yunting Lei, Guojing Shen, Jianjun Jin, Deren A R Eaton, Jianqiang Wu*, Comparative genomics of orobanchaceous species with different parasitic lifestyles reveals the origin and stepwise evolution of plant parasitism. Molecular Plant 15:1384-1399.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35854658
Yuxing Xu, Yunting Lei, Zhongxiang Su, Man Zhao, Jingxiong Zhang, Guojing Shen, Lei Wang, Jing Li, Jinfeng Qi, Jianqiang Wu, A chromosome-scale Gastrodia elata genome and large-scale comparative genomic analysis indicate convergent evolution by gene loss in mycoheterotrophic and parasitic plants. Plant Journal 108:1609-1623.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34647389/
Guiling Sun#, Yuxing Xu#, Hui Liu#, Ting Sun, Jingxiong Zhang, Christian Hettenhausen, Guojing Shen , Jinfeng Qi , Yan Qin, Jing Li, Lei Wang , Wei Chang , Zhenhua Guo , Ian T Baldwin, Jianqiang Wu*, Large-scale gene losses underlie the genome evolution of parasitic plant Cuscuta australis. Nature Communications 9:2683.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29992948
Database Updates
May 31, 2025: Genome data of Gastrodia elata, Orobanche spp. and Armillaria spp. were added, improving the research resources on the interaction between parasitic plants and fungi.
April 25, 2018: The genome data of Cuscuta australis were released for the first time.
Database Introduction
This database currently contains genome data of three parasitic plant species—Cuscuta spp. (dodders), Gastrodia elata (tianma), Orobanche spp. (broomrapes)—and the fungal genus Armillaria spp., which serves as the host fungus for Gastrodia elata. Details are as follows:
Cuscuta spp. - Stem parasitic plants with global distribution, the only parasitic lineage in Convolvulaceae, and holoparasitic plants without leaves or roots, containing very little or no chlorophyll. Genome data for two main research species, Cuscuta campestris and Cuscuta australis, have been released.
Gastrodia elata - An orchid (Orchidaceae) that obtains nutrients for growth by parasitizing fungi (Armillaria spp. and Mycena spp.), making it an ideal model for studying the interactions and coevolution between mycoheterotrophic plants and fungi.
Orobanche spp. - Members of Orobanchaceae, the largest family of parasitic plants, which includes autotrophic and parasitic species with all degrees of parasitism. This family is an ideal group for studying the origin and evolution of plant parasitism. Two high-quality genomes of orobanchaceous plants are provided here, including the holoparasitic plants Phelipanche aegyptiaca and Orobanche cumana.
Armillaria spp. - The genus Armillaria (Basidiomycota, Agaricales, Physalacriaceae) includes pathogenic fungi that cause root-rot disease in plants, as well as low-pathogenicity species, some of which serve as hosts for the fully mycoheterotrophic orchid Gastrodia elata. Establishing genetic transformation platforms for Armillaria fungi and G. elata is crucial to investigate the mechanisms underlying their special interactions.
For further inquires and requests, please contact Dr. Jianqiang Wu (wujianqiang(at)mail.kib.ac.cn; note: please replace (at) with @).
Please cite the following paper when you use data of Parasitic Plant Database in your work:
Yuxing Xu, Jingxiong Zhang, Canrong Ma, Yunting Lei, Guojing Shen, Jianjun Jin, Deren A R Eaton, Jianqiang Wu*, Comparative genomics of orobanchaceous species with different parasitic lifestyles reveals the origin and stepwise evolution of plant parasitism. Molecular Plant 15:1384-1399.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35854658
Yuxing Xu, Yunting Lei, Zhongxiang Su, Man Zhao, Jingxiong Zhang, Guojing Shen, Lei Wang, Jing Li, Jinfeng Qi, Jianqiang Wu, A chromosome-scale Gastrodia elata genome and large-scale comparative genomic analysis indicate convergent evolution by gene loss in mycoheterotrophic and parasitic plants. Plant Journal 108:1609-1623.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34647389/
Guiling Sun#, Yuxing Xu#, Hui Liu#, Ting Sun, Jingxiong Zhang, Christian Hettenhausen, Guojing Shen , Jinfeng Qi , Yan Qin, Jing Li, Lei Wang , Wei Chang , Zhenhua Guo , Ian T Baldwin, Jianqiang Wu*, Large-scale gene losses underlie the genome evolution of parasitic plant Cuscuta australis. Nature Communications 9:2683.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29992948
Database Updates
May 31, 2025: Genome data of Gastrodia elata, Orobanche spp. and Armillaria spp. were added, improving the research resources on the interaction between parasitic plants and fungi.
April 25, 2018: The genome data of Cuscuta australis were released for the first time.