NEWS OF THE WEEK CHEMICAL
ECOLOGY
PREY'S PERFUME Parasitic plant relies on volatiles to track down suitable hosts tored how dodder seedlings grew in the presence of live tomato plants as well as extracted tomato SNARL The five-angled dodder is a parasitic vine that volatiles. They found that (i-phelstarts small (below) but eventually overwhelms its landrene and p-myrcene are potent plant prey, covering it in a swirling mess of stems. attractants for the parasite. Next, the researchers studied dodder in the presence of "In previous experiments, eiTEMPTING AROMA wheat, a plant that dodder ther the plants were enclosed in a Volatile chemical cues attract does not prey on. small container, where the volatiles parasitic plant to its host reached artificially high concentraThey found that altions, or the experiments were done though wheat contains completely in the open, which made some attractants like (3the conditions of the experiments myrcene, it also contains difficult to control," says Eran Pia potent repellant: (Z)(3-Phellandrene p-Myrcene chersky, a biology professor at the 3-hexenyl acetate. This University ofMichigan. 'The work volatile is present in a lot opens up a new field for volatiles of grasses, which are rarely colothat this predatory plant detects research as well as for the study of volatiles from other plants and then nized by dodder, De Moraes says. parasitic plants." So dodder avoids unsuitable hosts uses these chemical cues to assess the quality of a potential host be- by also detecting repellants. John Pickett of Rothamsted fore tracking the host down. Research in England calls the ex"Atfirstwefiguredthat the volAlthough chemical ecologists atiles may just be guiding the plant. periments innovative. "This work could eventually yield new aphave long studied the relationship We had no idea that the plant had between plant volatiles and animal a capacity to distinguish the quality proaches for parasitic weed control in agriculture."—SARAH EVERTS predators, the new study provides of the host," De Moraes says. the first proof that a plant host can attract or repel a plant preda- R E S T R U C T U R I N G tor through chemicals released into the air. Listed on the USDA's top 10 untsman Corp. has signed an agreement weeds list, thefive-angleddodder, er and an aromatics facility. Not included in the to sell its European petrochemical busisale are Huntsman's British titanium dioxide and Cuscutapentagona, is an obligate ness to Saudi Basic Industries Corp. parasite, which means it has no polyurethane intermediates plants, which it also (SABIC) for $700 million in cash. The transaction leaves and can't carry out photobought from ICI. synthesis particularly well. To sur- will also lower Huntsman's pension liabilities by For SABIC, the purchase furthers a globaliza$126 million. vive, the dodder obtains essential tion strategy and, more specifically, its role in the energy and nutrients by attaching The sale, expected to be completed by the end European chemical industry. The largest public to other plants and sucking out of the year, is a big step in Huntsman's previouscompany in the Middle East, SABIC became a Eutheir phloem, or innards. ly announced plan to exit the commodity chemical ropean manufacturer in 2002 with the purchase of business and focus on differentiated products, acDSM's petrochemical business. But thefive-angleddodder must cording to CEO Peter R. Huntsman. The company SABIC says it will complete construction, at work quickly. After germination, recently sold its Texas-based butadiene business a cost of $150 million, on a 400,000-metric-ton the plant has only a week of seed and wants to sell its other U.S. commodity assets low-density polyethylene plant in Teesside, Enprovisions to keep it alive while it by the end of the year. gland, that Huntsman recently started building. finds an appropriate host. Justin "We are fully committed to realizing the full poB. Runyon, Mark C. Mescher, and Huntsman acquired its European petrochemtential of these businesses," says SABIC CEO MoConsuelo M. De Moraes of Perm ical business in 1999 from ICI, which at the time hamed H. Al-Mady, "and therefore we intend to inState decided to find out how dod- was shifting its own portfolio toward more spevest and grow the business in the future, including der beats the clock {Science 2006, cialized products. The U.K.-based business had the continued construction of the new polyethyl313,1967). sales last year of $2.5 billion and includes an ene plant."-MICHAEL MCCOY 865,000-metric-ton-per-year ethylene crackTo do so, the researchers moni-
S
NIFFING FOR PREY IS NOT
a skill one expects from a plant, but a parasitic vine called thefive-angleddodder might beg to differ. Pennsylvania State University researchers have found
Huntsman Selling European Petrochemicals
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