Dodder vines may function as biological communication bridges linking otherwise separate plants through direct vascular connections.
Cuscuta forms haustoria that penetrate host tissues, but those connections carry considerably more than water and nutrients. Evidence reviewed in Molecular Horticulture shows that messenger RNA, small RNA, long non-coding RNA, proteins, developmental regulators and defence-related signals can cross host-parasite interfaces while remaining biologically active. A single vine connecting multiple hosts can therefore create a physical pathway through which information moves between individual plants.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43897-026-00275-2
