Grass endophytes

Shardl CL, Wilkinson HH, Hybridization and cospeciation hypotheses for the evolution of grass endophytes, in Bacon CW, White JF, Jr (eds.). Microbial Endophytes M.3xce Dekker, Inc., New York, NY, pp. 63-84, 2000. 

Malinowski DP, Belesky DP, Ecological importance of Neotyphodium spp. grass endophytes in agroecosystems. Grassland Sci 52 1-14, 2006. 

Spiering MJ et al. Gene clusters for insecticidal loline alkaloids in the grass-endophytic fungus Neotyphodium uncinatum, Genetics 169 1403—1414, 2005. 

Schardl CL, Phillips TD. Protective grass endophytes where are they from and where are they going Plant Dis 81 430-438, 1997. 

Reddy PV, Bergen MS, Patel R, White IF Jr. An examination of molecular phylogeny and morphology of the grass endophyte Balansia claviceps and similar species. Mycologia 90(1) 117-180, 1998. 

Brem D. The Role of the Transmission Mode for Grass Endophyte Evolution. Ph.D. dissertation, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 2001. 

Brem D, Leuchtmann A. Epichloe grass endophytes increase herbivore resistance in the woodland grass Brachypodium sylvaticum. Oecologia 126 522-530, 2001a. 

Bucheli E, Leuchtmann A. Evidence for genetic differentiation between choke-inducing and asymptomatic strains of the Epichloe grass endophyte from Brachypodium sylvaticum. Evolution 50 1879-1887, 1996. 

Leuchtmann A, Bultman TL. Epichloe grass endophytes and their interaction with a symbiotic fly. In Paul VH, Dapprich PD, eds. The Grassland Conference 2000. Proceedings of the 4th International Neotyphodium/Gmss Interactions Symposium. Soest, Germany Universitat-Gesamthochschule Paderbom, 2001, pp 103-107. 

Leuchtmann A, Clay K. The population biology of grass endophytes. In Carroll GC, Tudzynski P, eds. The Mycota, Vol. V. Part B, Plant Relationships. Berlin Springer-Verlag, 1997, pp 185-202. 

Blankenship JD, Spiering MJ, Wilkinson UH, Fannin FF, Bush LP, Schardl CL. Production of loline alkaloids by the grass endophyte, Neotyphodium uncinatum, in defined media. Phytochemistry 58 395-401, 2001. 

Porter JK. Chemical constituents of grass endophytes. In Bacon CW, White JF Jr, eds. Biotechnology of Endophytic Fungi of Grasses. Boca Raton, EL CRC Press, 1994, pp 103-123. 

Schmid J, Spiering MJ, Christensen MJ. Metabolic activity, distribution and propagation of grass endophytes in planta investigations using the GUS reporter gene system. In White JF Jr, Bacon CW, eds. Microbial Endophytes. New York Marcel Dekker, 2000, pp 295-322. 

Wilkinson HH, Siegel MR, Blankenship JD, Mallory AC, Bush LP, Schardl CL. Contribution of fungal loline alkaloids to protection from aphids in a grass-endophyte mutualism. Mol Plant-Microbe Int 13 1027-1033, 2000. 

Estimates of the genome size of grass endophytes range from around 28 Mb, for the haploid sexual species, and up to 58 Mb for some of the interspecific hybrids (Kuldau et al., 1999). Electrophoretic karyotypes are consistent with these estimates, with between 5 and 7 chromosomes in the haploid species and between 10 and 14 chromosomes in the hybrids (Fig. 2). The sizes of these chromosomes range from 0.9 to 10.5 Mb (Kuldau et al., 1999 Murray et al., 1992). The ability... 

Zabalgogeazcoa I, Benito EP, Ciudad AG, Criado BG, Eslava AP, Double-stranded RNA. and virus-like particles in the grass endophyte Epichloe festucae. Mycol Res 102 914-918, 1998. 

Wilkinson HH, Schardl CL. The evolution of mutualism in grass-endophyte associations. In Bacon CW, Hill NS, eds. Neotyphodium/Gmss Interactions. New York Plenum Press, 1997, pp 13-25. 

However, little is currently known about the impact of endophytes on food web dynamics in any natural ecosystem. There is a potential for the grass/endophyte symbiosis to impact more than the associated animal and plant communities. The ecosystem level consequences of endophytes have begun to be considered by a few researchers [106]. These consequences include carbon flow into soil food webs, such as the endophyte effects on litter decomposition and soil microbial activity and changes in soil nutrients availability and secondary compounds that may feedback to the plant community. The two agronomic species L. arundinaceum and L. perenne investigated the most are not native to places where they have been studied (United States and New Zealand) [106]. Further studies in natural ecosystem remain to be done before realistic ecological impact of endophytes can be studied. 

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