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Abstract
The multiple independent origins of plant parasitism suggest that numerous ancestral
plant lineages possessed the developmental flexibility to meet the requirements of
a parasitic life style, including such adaptations as the ability to recognize host
plants, form an invasive haustorium, and regulate the transfer of nutrients and other
molecules between two different plants. In this review, we focus on the Orobanchaceae,
which are unique among the parasitic plants in that extant member species include
the full range of host dependence from facultative to obligate parasites. The recent
emergence of genomic resources for these plants should provide new insights into parasitic
plant evolution and enable the development of novel genetic strategies for controlling
parasitic weeds.