Identification of risk areas for Orobanche cumana and Phelipanche aegyptiaca in China, based on the major host plant and CMIP6 climate scenarios

Abstract

Parasitic broomrape of the genus Orobanche poses a formidable threat to producing many crops in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Orobanche cumana and Phelipanche aegyptiaca are two of China's most destructive root parasitic plants, causing extreme sunflower, tomato, melon, and tobacco damage. However, the potentially suitable areas of O. cumana and P. aegyptiaca in China have not been predicted, and little is known about the important environmental factors that affect their extension. Due to their invasiveness and economic importance, studying how climate change and host plants may affect broomrapes' distribution is necessary. In the study, we first predicted the potentially suitable areas of the invasive weeds (O. cumana and P. aegyptiaca) and their susceptible host plants (Helianthus annuus and Solanum lycopersicon) using MaxEnt. Then, the risk zones and distribution shifts of two broomrapes under different climate conditions were identified by incorporating the distribution of their susceptible host plants. The results highlighted that the potential middle-and high-risk zones for O. cumana and P. aegyptiaca amounted to 197.88 × 10 4 km 2 and 12.90 × 10 4 km 2 , respectively. Notably, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia were the highest-risk areas within the distribution and establishment of O. cumana and P. aegyptiaca. Elevation and topsoil pH were the decisive factors for shaping O. cumana distribution; precipitation seasonality and annual precipitation were the dominant bioclimatic variables limiting the spread of P. aegyptiaca. The potentially suitable areas and risk zones of O. cumana would decrease significantly, and those of P. aegyptiaca would fluctuate slightly under future climate change scenarios. Overall, our study suggested that the two broomrapes' risk zones will significantly northward to higher latitudes. The results will provide suggestions for preventing O. cumana and P. aegyptiaca.

Are root parasitic broomrapes still a good target for bioherbicide control?

“…Tools from ecological niche modelling and occurrence records obtained from herbaria have been combined to predict the global invasive potential of ten parasitic weeds, and the data obtained led to the conclusion that the invasive potential of these species is considerable, with all tropical and subtropical countries, and most temperate countries, vulnerable to invasion by one or more of them 5 . In other studies carried out in China 6 and the USA 7 the potential of broomrapes to expand their distribution to areas where they are not yet present is further stressed.…”

Identification and genetic diversity analysis of broomrape in Xinjiang, China

“…Therefore, the primers tested in this study were effective and informative. Based on the ISSR primers, a total of 150 polymorphic bands were generated, and the broomrape had higher polymorphism with the values ranging from 88.89 to 100% and a mean of 97.24%, showing that the genetic diversity of broomrape was abundant, which is similar to the genetic diversity of O. crenata populations in Ethiopia [ 37 ].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically survey the molecular phylogenetic and genetic diversity of broomrape, which infests economically important crops and causes serious yield losses in Xinjiang [ 37 , 38 ]. This study indicated that broomrape exhibits rich genetic diversity and that high genetic variation exists among the populations in Xinjiang.…”

Effect of global warming on the potential distribution of a holoparasitic plant (Phelypaea tournefortii): both climate and host distribution matter

“…However, the authors did not include the parasite hosts in their analyses. In another research, Zhang et al 30 evaluated the potential distribution of invasive weeds ( O . cumana and Phelipanche aegyptiaca ) in China and their susceptible host plants ( Helianthus annuus and Solanum lycopersicon ) using MaxEnt.…”