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The parasitic vine Cuscuta campestris grows by latching onto the stems and leaves of plants and inserting organs called haustorium into the host plant tissues to draw nutrients. The haustorium is formed when ion channels in the cell membrane are stimulated during coiling and induce a reaction within the cell.

Further, C. campestris has many types of ion channels, but which ones were linked to the development of haustorium were previously unknown.

Professor Aoki led an Osaka Metropolitan University team in discovering that when the expression of the gene Cuscuta campestris MID1-COMPLEMENTING ACTIVITY1 (CcMCA1) was suppressed, the number of haustorium per centimeter decreased. The findings are in Plant and Cell Â鶹ÒùÔºiology.

"For the first time, the genes involved in sensing mechanical stimuli that lead to the climbing of vines, such as morning glories and bindweed, have been discovered," said Osaka Metropolitan University Professor Koh Aoki of the Graduate School of Agriculture.

"We want to continue to identify other ion channel genes involved in this process and aim to explain the various mechanisms of plant senses on the microscopic level," Professor Aoki added.

"Furthermore, we hope this will lead to the development of measures to control plants that cause harm economically to crops."