Zombie plantsScientists have discovered how a bacterial parasite turns plants into the living dead.T

Zombie plants

Scientists have discovered how a bacterial parasite turns plants into the living dead.

The bacteria is able to manipulate the way plants grow, causing infected plants to transform their flowers into leaf tissue.

In doing so, the plants are sacrificing their reproductive success and becoming sterile – dead to the future and destined to only benefit the survival of the bacteria parasite (healthy plant seen in the top image and an infected plant can be seen in the middle image).

The parasitic bacterium produces a protein that tricks the plant into transforming its flowers into leaf-like material. This transformation makes the plant more attractive to leafhoppers for settlement - the bacterium’s next victim and host to be (see leafhopper in bottom image).

Once an enticed leafhopper eats the infected zombie plant, the bacteria then catches a ride in their saliva on to the next plant they hop on to – starting the cycle all over again.

This research comes from the labs of Professor Hogenhout at John Innes Centre, and Professors Angenent and Immink at Wageningen University.

Images: John Innes Centre