Tissue specific expression in Cuscuta campestris haustoria using laser-capture microdissection (LCM)

To characterize Cuscuta haustorium developmental stages, we used laser-capture microdissection (LCM) with RNA-seq to analyze pure haustorial tissues from three different developmental stages. We focused on 4 DPA and defined three developmental stages based on the haustorium structure: early (the haustorium has just contacted the host), intermediate (the haustorium has developed searching hyphae but has not formed vascular connections), and mature (a mature haustorium with continuous vasculature between host and parasite).