HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in Crop Science Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Piano, E. Articles by Pecetti, L. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Piano, E. Articles by Pecetti, L. Agricola Articles by Piano, E. Articles by Pecetti, L. Related Collections Other Fiber Crops Plant Genetic Resources

CROP BREEDING, GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

Specificity of Host-Endophyte Association in Tall Fescue Populations from Sardinia, Italy

^a Istituto Sperimentale per le Colture Foraggere, viale Piacenza 29, 26900 Lodi, Italy
^b Istituto Sperimentale per la Patologia Vegetale, via C.G. Bertero 22, 00156 Rome, Italy
^c Istituto Sperimentale per le Colture Foraggere, via Crespellani 4, 09121 Cagliari, Italy

^* Corresponding author (bred{at}iscf.it)

Tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea Schreb. var. arundinacea Schreb. (2n = 6x = 42)] breeding objectives are to exploit the natural variation of the associated endophytic fungi and to select specific plant–fungus combinations that optimize the host fitness but do not cause detrimental effects on grazing animals. This study investigated the presence of endophytes in 60 tall fescue natural populations from Sardinia, Italy; identified the endophytes and assessed some important metabolites produced by their interaction with the host plant; and characterized the tall fescue populations for morphological traits, relating the variation among populations to possible differences in the associated endophytes. The high frequency of infected populations (58 out of 60), and high levels of infection (on average, 80% infected seed), suggested an adaptive advantage of E+ plants under harsh Mediterranean conditions. Morphological identification of fungal isolates, in comparison with Neotyphodium coenophialum (Morgan-Jones et Gams) Glenn, Bacon et Hanlin check isolates, made it possible to separate two groups of populations. One, infrequent, associated with a long-conidia endophyte (attributable to N. coenophialum), and another associated with a short-conidia form, likely belonging to the Festuca arundinacea Taxonomic Grouping-2 (FaTG-2), which was previously isolated in a few Mediterranean accessions. Chemical analysis revealed the presence of loline alkaloids only in populations associated to the long-conidia endophyte, thus corroborating that form's attribution to the loline-inducing N. coenophialum. A difference was also observed in ergovaline concentration between long-conidia (= N. coenophialum) and short-conidia endophyte variants, the latter producing only about 25% of the ergovaline produced by the former. A coevolutionary specificity between the native Sardinian fescue germplasm and its associated endophyte was suggested by the agreement between morphology of the host plant (distinct from germplasm originating in temperate environments) and morphological and biochemical characteristics of the harbored fungus.

Abbreviations: E+, endophyte-infected germplasm • E–, endophyte-free germplasm

Related articles in Crop Science:

THIS ISSUE IN CROP SCIENCE

Crop Science 2005 45: vii. [Full Text]