中科院水土保持研究所马永清研究员及其学术团队撰写的论文《一些玉米杂交系可以诱导向日葵列当种子萌发》（Potential of Some Hybrid Maize Lines to Induce Germination of Sunflower Broomrape）在《作物科学》（Crop Science）杂志发表。
玉米在全世界广泛种植，可以作为食物、动物饲料以及能源物质，其管理方式灵活，用途多样。马永清及其学术团队研究发现，玉米具有诱导向日葵列当“自杀萌发”的能力。
向日葵列当给亚洲、非洲以及东欧南部地区的蔬菜和农作物造成大量的破坏。由于向日葵列当自身缺乏叶绿素，它完全靠从寄主植物上吸收水分和养分。被向日葵列当寄生的向日葵农田，将会使向日葵减产50%。向日葵是中国主要的油料作物之一，目前在陕西省定边县超过64%的向日葵田被向日葵列当寄生，寄生的面积高达10000公顷以上。一些防治方法包括化学防治和传统的防治方法都可以降低向日葵列当造成的危害。目前的研究显示利用诱捕作物（诱捕作物是指可以诱导杂草种子萌发但又不被杂草寄生的植物,也称之为“自杀性萌发”）也可以达到防除列当的效果。
马永清科研团队试图利用玉米作为诱捕作物来控制列当的危害。他们研究发现，玉米的亲本和自交系对列当种子有显着的萌发刺激作用，玉米又不能被列当所寄生。因此，他们提出可以专门生产玉米品系来作为诱捕作物，既可以防治向日葵列当，还可以作为饲料作物。
为了探究不同玉米品种对向日葵列当的萌发刺激作用，研究人员对亲本和自交系都进行了测试。他们发现有一个组合的F1代和父母本均能诱导较高的发芽率。另外，所测的玉米杂交组合并没有以诱捕防除列当作为育种目的，因此他们提出通过分析这些优质的品系，有可能选育出更加有效的品种。
美国作物科学学会网站（Http://www.crops.org/）1月7日在头条位置刊登了该论文的相关报道。(生物谷Bioon.com)
doi: 10.2135/cropsci2012.03.0197
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Potential of Some Hybrid Maize Lines to Induce Germination of Sunflower Broomrape
Yongqing Ma *a, Jinnan Jiab, Yu Anc, Zhong Wangb and Jianchang Maod
Orobanche cumana Wallr. (sunflower broomrape) is a devastating root parasitic weed, causing enormous crop losses throughout the world. Maize (Zea mays L.) is able to induce germination of at least two Orobanche species. Our question was whether or not maize has potential to be used as a “trap crop” for O. cumana. To answer this question, we screened four maize hybrids and their parental lines for their ability to induce O. cumana germination. The results indicated that rhizosphere soil, rhizosphere soil extracts, root extracts, and shoot extracts from three of the four maize hybrids and their parental lines induced significant O. cumana germination. Root extracts generally induced higher germination rates than shoot extracts. Ten-fold dilutions of the extracts generally induced higher germination rates than either undiluted extracts or 100-fold dilutions. The ability to induce germination varied significantly among maize hybrid and inbred lines, with the hybrid 3255 × 335 and its parental lines generally inducing the highest O. cumana germination rates. The genetic mechanism for the production of the chemical stimulant that induces O. cumana germination needs to be analyzed further; however, we propose that there is potential for a breeding program to be developed to produce maize lines with greater ability to induce O. cumana germination. These lines could be used as trap crops for the control of this devastating root parasitic weed.
