{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T08:47:59Z","timestamp":1784191679941,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769731200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015926","name":"Youth Project of Qinghai Basic Research Program","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024-ZJ-944"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-ZJ-944"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015926","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cynomorium songaricum is an important medicinal holoparasitic plant in the arid regions of northwestern China. Its extremely low seed germination rate relies on chemical signals released from the rhizosphere of specific host plants. This study aimed to elucidate the chemical basis of host recognition by C. songaricum by characterizing and comparing the rhizosphere volatile metabolomes of five host plant species. Gas chromatography\u2013mass spectrometry (GC\u2013MS) was used to analyze the rhizosphere volatiles of three Nitraria species (N. roborowskii, N. sibirica, N. tangutorum), Peganum multisectum, and Zygophyllum xanthoxylum. Multivariate statistical analyses, including PCA, HCA, and OPLS-DA, were employed to identify shared and differential metabolites. A total of 116 volatile compounds were identified. Alkanes were the predominant metabolite class (accounting for 46.27\u201376.47% in each host), and 11 C11\u2013C16 alkanes were shared by all species. Notably, Z. xanthoxylon (belonging to a different family) exhibited a distinct metabolic profile, with a significantly higher proportion of benzene derivatives (35.82%) compared to the other hosts. PCA and cluster analysis revealed family\/genus-specific clustering patterns, with Z. xanthoxylon forming a separate cluster. Several differential metabolites unique to Z. xanthoxylon possessed antimicrobial and stress-resistant activities. This study reveals the chemical signatures of C. songaricum host roots. The shared alkanes are proposed as potential background signals for general recognition, though this hypothetical role requires experimental validation. Family\/genus-specific compounds might be involved in host selection. The unique chemical profile of Z. xanthoxylon suggests that C. songaricum may employ a flexible recognition strategy, enabling it to parasitize plants across different families. These findings provide fundamental data for understanding the chemical basis of host\u2013parasite interactions in this species.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31030491","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T14:35:46Z","timestamp":1769783746000},"page":"491","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparative Metabolomics Reveals Family\u2013Genus-Specific Chemical Signatures and Potential Recognition Mechanisms in Cynomorium songaricum\u2013Host Interactions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"given":"Yu","family":"Tang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Qinghai Minzu University, Xining 810007, China"},{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Changmao","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Qinghai Minzu University, Xining 810007, China"},{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xunchao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yubi","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-7203-263X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jie","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, L., Jia, H., and Hua, Q. 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