We therefore wanted to know
whether dodder can transmit insect feeding - induced signals among different hosts and whether these signals can even activate defenses against insects,» explains Jianqiang Wu, who worked at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology as a PhD student and later a project leader, and who is now heading a Max Planck Partner Group in China.
They are now interested in investigating
whether piercing - sucking insects, such as aphids, can induce a different repertoire of defensive signals, and in learning how these are transferred by
dodder.