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. 2013 Dec;14(9):861-9.
doi: 10.1111/mpp.12058. Epub 2013 Jul 10.

The genus Striga: a witch profile

Thomas Spallek  1 , Musembi Mutuku, Ken Shirasu
Affiliations

The genus Striga: a witch profile

Thomas Spallek et al. Mol Plant Pathol. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

The genus Striga comprises about 30 obligate root-parasitic plants, commonly known as witchweeds. In particular, S. hermonthica, S. asiatica and S. gesnerioides cause immense losses to major stable crops in sub-Saharan Africa. Most Striga species parasitize grass species (Poaceae), but Striga gesnerioides has evolved to parasitize dicotyledonous plants. Aspects of phylogeny, economic impact, parasitic life style and molecular discoveries are briefly reviewed to profile one of the main biotic constraints to African agriculture.

Taxonomy: Striga Lour.; Kingdom Plant; Division Angiospermae; Clade Eudicots; Order Laminales; Family Orobanchaceae.

Important hosts: Sorghum Moench., maize (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza L.), sugarcane (Saccharum L.), pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.].

Disease symptoms: Stunted growth, drought-stressed-like appearance, in severe cases chlorosis and necrosis.

Economic importance: 1 billion $US per annum.

Disease control: Hand weeding, breeding, chemical control, intercropping with catch or trap crops.

Useful webpages: http://ppgp.huck.psu.edu; http://striga.psc.riken.jp.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Global distribution of the economically most destructive Striga species and two major host plants, cowpea and sorghum, according to Mohamed and Musselman (2008) and Musselman (1980). The relative production of sorghum and cowpea in West Africa, East Africa and South‐East Asia is based on values published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, http://www.fao.org/corp/statistics/en) for 2011. (B) Striga asiatica (Sa) seed next to an Arabidopsis thaliana (At) seed. (C) Two‐week‐old S. asiatica (Sa) haustorium (arrow) on rice (Oryza sativa, Os). (D) Striga hermonthica‐infested sorghum field in Kismu (Kenya, December 2012). (B, C) Scale bars represent 200 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agabawi, K.A. and Younis, A.E. (1965) Effect of nitrogen application on growth and nitrogen content of Striga hermonthica, Benth. and Sorghum vulgare, Lur. grown for forage. Plant Soil, 23, 295–304.
    1. Atera, E. and Itoh, K. (2011) Evaluation of ecologies and severity of Striga weed on rice in sub‐Saharan Africa. Agric. Biol. J. N. Am. 2, 752–760.
    1. Ba, A.T. (1979) Notes on the histochemistry of the haustorium of Striga hermonthica. Proceedings, Second International Symposium on Parasitic Weeds, North Carolina, pp. 128–131.
    1. Bandaranayake, P.C.G. , Filappova, T. , Tomilov, A. , Tomilova, N.B. , Jamison‐McClung, D. , Ngo, Q. , Inoue, K. and Yoder J.I. (2010) A single‐electron reducing quinone oxidoreductase is necessary to induce haustorium development in the root parasitic plant Triphysaria . Plant Cell, 22, 1404–1419. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bennett, J.R. and Mathews, S. (2006) Phylogeny of the parasitic plant family Orobanchaceae inferred from phytochrome A. Am. J. Bot. 93, 1039–1051. - PubMed

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