A molecular systematic study of Scrophulariaceae sensu lato using DNA sequences of three plastid genes (rbcL, ndhF, and rps2) revealed at least five distinct monophyletic groups. Thirty-nine genera representing 24 tribes of the Scrophulariaceae s.l. (sensu lato) were analyzed along with representatives of 15 other families of Lamiales. The Scrophulariaceae s.s. (sensu stricto) include part or a...

The origin of novel traits is recognized as an important process underlying many major evolutionary radiations. We studied the genetic basis for the evolution of haustoria, the novel feeding organs of parasitic flowering plants, using comparative transcriptome sequencing in three species of Orobanchaceae. Around 180 genes are upregulated during haustorial development following host attachment i...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Microsatellite primers were developed for the first time in the root hemiparasite herb Odontites vernus (Orobanchaceae). These markers will be useful to investigate the role of polyploidization in the evolution of this diploid-tetraploid complex, as well as the extent of gene flow between different ploidy levels. METHODS AND RESULTS Fourteen polymorphic and reproducible l...

Ten Linnaean names of Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) are lectotypified: P. comosa, P. flammea, P. hirsuta, P. incarnata, P. lapponica, P. resupinata, P. rostrata, P. tristis, P. tuberosa and P. verticillata. Lectotypes are designated from the Linnaean herbarium at LINN. The type choices made here maintain the present usage of the corresponding Linnaean names for ten Pedicularis species.

Parasitic species of the family Orobanchaceae are devastating agricultural pests in many parts of the world. The control of weedy Orobanchaceae spp. is challenging, particularly due to the highly coordinated life cycles of the parasite and host plants. Although host genetic resistance often provides the foundation of plant pathogen management, few genes that confer resistance to root parasites ...

Plants from the family Orobanchaceae are widely used as a model to study different aspects of parasitic lifestyle including host-parasite interactions and physiological and genomic adaptations. Among the latter, the most prominent are those that occurred due to the loss of photosynthesis; they include the reduction of the photosynthesis-related gene set in both nuclear and plastid genomes. In O...

Rätzel, S., R. Hand, C.S. Christodoulou & H. Uhlich (2021). Phelipanche chionistrae (Orobanchaceae): a new holoparasitic species from Cyprus. Candollea 76: 77–82. In English, English abstract.The (Orobanchaceae) is described Chionistra, the highest summit of Troodos range in Morphological data strongly suggest affinities to rosmarina complex, predominantly West Mediterranean taxa, and olbiensis...