Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses
Host selectivity or preference plays a critical role in enabling parasitic plants to identify suitable hosts and influence plant community dynamics. Phosphorus (P) is known to affect the growth of root hemiparasitic plants and their interaction with single host species, but its role in shaping host...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Xiaolin Sui Ruijuan Xue Airong Li |
| author_facet | Xiaolin Sui Ruijuan Xue Airong Li |
| author_sort | Xiaolin Sui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Host selectivity or preference plays a critical role in enabling parasitic plants to identify suitable hosts and influence plant community dynamics. Phosphorus (P) is known to affect the growth of root hemiparasitic plants and their interaction with single host species, but its role in shaping host selectivity across multiple hosts is unclear. In a pot experiment, we used a grass–legume co-culture design and evaluated whether the root hemiparasitic plant <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> exhibits selective parasitism on legumes (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) versus grasses (<i>Elymus nutans</i>) and assessed the impact of soil P availability on this preference. The results showed that <i>P. kansuensis</i> inhibited the growth of both host species, but the magnitude of suppression varied with P availability. Under low P conditions, <i>P. kansuensis</i> preferentially parasitized the tender <i>M. sativa</i>, causing a greater biomass reduction in the legume. In contrast, at high P levels, <i>P. kansuensis</i> decreased its foraging on legumes, shifting its parasitism towards the dominant <i>E. nutans</i>, which potentially led to stronger suppression of grass growth. Our findings demonstrate that soil P availability modulates host selectivity in <i>P. kansuensis</i>, emphasizing the influence of soil nutrient conditions on parasite–host dynamics. This research provides insights into managing the impacts of parasitic plants on plant community structure through nutrient interventions. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-484d18d299434c9fbfd4591ccfea2cce2025-08-20T03:36:27ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-07-011415235610.3390/plants14152356Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and GrassesXiaolin Sui0Ruijuan Xue1Airong Li2Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, ChinaYunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, ChinaYunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, ChinaHost selectivity or preference plays a critical role in enabling parasitic plants to identify suitable hosts and influence plant community dynamics. Phosphorus (P) is known to affect the growth of root hemiparasitic plants and their interaction with single host species, but its role in shaping host selectivity across multiple hosts is unclear. In a pot experiment, we used a grass–legume co-culture design and evaluated whether the root hemiparasitic plant <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> exhibits selective parasitism on legumes (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) versus grasses (<i>Elymus nutans</i>) and assessed the impact of soil P availability on this preference. The results showed that <i>P. kansuensis</i> inhibited the growth of both host species, but the magnitude of suppression varied with P availability. Under low P conditions, <i>P. kansuensis</i> preferentially parasitized the tender <i>M. sativa</i>, causing a greater biomass reduction in the legume. In contrast, at high P levels, <i>P. kansuensis</i> decreased its foraging on legumes, shifting its parasitism towards the dominant <i>E. nutans</i>, which potentially led to stronger suppression of grass growth. Our findings demonstrate that soil P availability modulates host selectivity in <i>P. kansuensis</i>, emphasizing the influence of soil nutrient conditions on parasite–host dynamics. This research provides insights into managing the impacts of parasitic plants on plant community structure through nutrient interventions.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2356host selectivitylegume–grass mixtureparasitic plantphosphorous availabilityhaustorium<i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> |
| spellingShingle | Xiaolin Sui Ruijuan Xue Airong Li Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses Plants host selectivity legume–grass mixture parasitic plant phosphorous availability haustorium <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> |
| title | Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses |
| title_full | Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses |
| title_fullStr | Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses |
| title_short | Soil Phosphorus Availability Modulates Host Selectivity of <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> Between Legumes and Grasses |
| title_sort | soil phosphorus availability modulates host selectivity of i pedicularis kansuensis i between legumes and grasses |
| topic | host selectivity legume–grass mixture parasitic plant phosphorous availability haustorium <i>Pedicularis kansuensis</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2356 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xiaolinsui soilphosphorusavailabilitymodulateshostselectivityofipediculariskansuensisibetweenlegumesandgrasses AT ruijuanxue soilphosphorusavailabilitymodulateshostselectivityofipediculariskansuensisibetweenlegumesandgrasses AT airongli soilphosphorusavailabilitymodulateshostselectivityofipediculariskansuensisibetweenlegumesandgrasses |