Parasitic Plant Genome Project (PPGP). Parasitic genera from Orobanchaceae and closely related non-parasites

The overall goal of the Parasitic Plant Genome Project (PPGP) is to carry out the comparative functional genomic analysis of parasitic plants in order to discover the genome-wide changes that led to the establishment of the parasitic lifestyle and the changes that resulted as a consequence of adoption of the parasitic lifestyle.In this project, we lay the groundwork for this analysis by comparing the transcriptomes of parasitic genera from Orobanchaceae and closely related non-parasites. These plant species are evolutionarily related yet span the range of parasitic ability from free-living to completely heterotrophic parasite.We’ve sequence developmental stage-specific cDNAs a with the goal of obtaining a thorough sampling of expressed sequences from each parasite species. The key feature of parasitism is the haustorium, a unique organ that forms the physical and physiological bridge between host and parasite. Because of the central role of the haustorium in parasitism, we will focus sequencing efforts on the developmental stages from haustorial initiation through full establishment of the parasite on the host.