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Related Experiment Videos

Resource choice in Cuscuta europaea.

C K Kelly1

  • 1Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 15, 1992
PubMed
Summary

Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) actively chooses high-quality host plants before feeding, demonstrating a preference for nutritionally rich environments. This parasitic plant selects hosts based on expected reward, not just passive growth factors.

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Area of Science:

  • Plant-parasite interactions
  • Plant physiology
  • Behavioral ecology

Background:

  • Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) is an obligate parasitic plant that requires a host for survival.
  • Host selection is a critical step in the life cycle of parasitic plants, influencing resource acquisition and reproductive success.
  • Understanding the cues and mechanisms driving host selection in parasitic plants is essential for developing effective control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether dodder exhibits active host selection behavior.
  • To determine if nutritional status of the host plant influences dodder's acceptance or rejection.
  • To explore the relationship between perceived host quality and dodder's decision-making process.

Main Methods:

  • Individual stems of dodder (Cuscuta europaea) with growing tips were transplanted onto hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) host plants.
  • Host plants were maintained at varying nutritional statuses to create a gradient of resource availability.
  • Dodder's coiling behavior (acceptance) or movement away (rejection) from the host was recorded prior to any nutrient uptake.

Main Results:

  • Dodder was significantly more likely to coil around and accept hosts of high nutritional status.
  • Dodder exhibited a rejection response, growing away from hosts of poor nutritional quality.
  • This acceptance/rejection behavior occurred before any nutrient transfer, indicating an active choice rather than a passive response to growth or mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Dodder actively selects host plants based on their nutritional status, demonstrating a sophisticated decision-making process.
  • The probability of host acceptance is correlated with the expected nutritional reward from the host.
  • This study dissociates active host choice from passive effects, highlighting the role of perceived reward in parasitic plant behavior.

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