Root hemiparasites are green photosynthetic plants, which parasitically acquire resources from host xylem. Mineral nutrients and water, two principal below-ground abiotic resources, were assumed to affect the interaction between hemiparasites and their hosts. The shape of these effects and the underlying physiological mechanisms have, however, remained unclear. We conducted a glasshouse experiment with root-hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus, in which we manipulated the availability of mineral nutrients and water. Biomass production and Chl fluorescence of the hemiparasites and hosts were recorded, together with proportion of host-derived carbon in hemiparasite biomass. The abiotic resources had profound interactive effects on the performance of both the hemiparasite and the hosts, as well as the balance of above-ground biomass between them. These effects were mainly based on an increase of growth and photosynthetic efficiency under high nutrient concentrations, on the hemiparasite's ability to induce strong water stress on the hosts if water is limiting, and on release of the host from parasitism by simultaneous abundance of both resources. Hemiparasitism is a highly variable interaction, in which environmental conditions affect both the parasitic and autotrophic (and thus competitive) components. A hemiparasite's own photosynthesis plays a crucial role in the assimilation of parasitized mineral resources and their transformation into growth and fitness.

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Branišovská 31 37005 České Budějovice Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Approaching a revolution in hemiparasitic plant biology? A commentary on 'Distinguishing carbon gains from photosynthesis and heterotrophy in C3-hemiparasite-C3-host-pairs'

Water-stress physiology of Rhinanthus alectorolophus, a root-hemiparasitic plant

Hydathode trichomes actively secreting water from leaves play a key role in the physiology and evolution of root-parasitic rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae