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Santalum album–Host Plants Interaction: An Incomplete Story of Semi-Root Parasite


Affiliations
1 College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
2 Bundhelkhand University, Jhansi 284 001, India
 

Sandal (Santalum album L.) is one of the most valuable hemiparasitic tree species cultivated for its scented heartwood and oil. The economic yield from sandal depends on the hosts associated with it. Previous studies show that the sandal–host interaction is related to certain physiological, genetic and molecular mechanisms that enable them to identify host plants, to grow invasively into the hosts, and to establish connections to withdraw water and other resources from the hosts. However, the understanding of these mechanisms is still very vague. Our observations from the three-month-old sandal seedlings–host interaction study revealed the complex and multifaceted character of the host–parasite signalling mechanism. Besides, we found numerous unsolved questions and a significant knowledge gap in this field. Therefore, this article aims to correlate and contrast our observations with previous findings and to deliver some key questions to bridge the knowledge gap in future research.

Keywords

Haustoria, HIFs, Host–Parasite Interaction, Santalum album.
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  • Santalum album–Host Plants Interaction: An Incomplete Story of Semi-Root Parasite

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Authors

Vishnu Raju
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
Ashish Agashe
Bundhelkhand University, Jhansi 284 001, India
Mushineni Ashajyothi
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
Kunasekaran Rajarajan
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
Naresh Kumar
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India
Ayyanadar Arunachalam
College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur 680 656, India

Abstract


Sandal (Santalum album L.) is one of the most valuable hemiparasitic tree species cultivated for its scented heartwood and oil. The economic yield from sandal depends on the hosts associated with it. Previous studies show that the sandal–host interaction is related to certain physiological, genetic and molecular mechanisms that enable them to identify host plants, to grow invasively into the hosts, and to establish connections to withdraw water and other resources from the hosts. However, the understanding of these mechanisms is still very vague. Our observations from the three-month-old sandal seedlings–host interaction study revealed the complex and multifaceted character of the host–parasite signalling mechanism. Besides, we found numerous unsolved questions and a significant knowledge gap in this field. Therefore, this article aims to correlate and contrast our observations with previous findings and to deliver some key questions to bridge the knowledge gap in future research.

Keywords


Haustoria, HIFs, Host–Parasite Interaction, Santalum album.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv125%2Fi2%2F130-137