RNA transfer between woody shrubs and herbaceous parasitic plant

Cistanche deserticola (Orobanceae) is a desert plant with high medicinal value, and it is a holoparasitic herb which parasitizes on the roots of woody plant Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae). Exchanges of biomolecules such as mRNA, siRNA and protein were reported for host plant and interacting pathogens including parasitic plants. Here, we identified mobile mRNAs between C. deserticola and H. ammodendron through next-generation transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, and the character, function and trend of mobile mRNA were investigated.

肉苁蓉（Cistanche deserticola，列当科Orobanceae）是一种具有极高药用价值的荒漠植物，为全寄生草本植物，寄生于木本植物梭梭（Haloxylon ammodendron，藜科Chenopodiaceae）的根部。已有研究报道，寄主植物与包括寄生植物在内的互作病原之间可发生mRNA、siRNA及蛋白质等生物分子的交流。本研究通过高通量转录组测序（next-generation transcriptome sequencing）与生物信息学分析，鉴定出肉苁蓉与梭梭之间的可移动mRNA，并对这类可移动mRNA的特征、功能及变化趋势展开了研究。