Attack of the Parasitic Plant! (Cuscuta)

Cuscuta pentagona (dodder) is an obligate parasitic plant that lives by forming connections via haustoria to host plants, in this way satisfying all its water and nutrients needs. To succeed in this parasitic lifestyle, dodder has evolved amazing adaptions to locate and parasitize host plants, some of which are evident in this time-lapse video of dodder interacting with Arabidopsis and Tomato. Our research group at Virginia Tech researches host-parasite interactions. Enjoy!