scholarly journals Non-systemic fungal endophytes in Festuca rubra plants infected by Epichloë festucae in subarctic habitats

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñigo Zabalgogeazcoa ◽  
Pedro E. Gundel ◽  
Marjo Helander ◽  
Kari Saikkonen
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Epichloë Festucae ◽  
Systemic Fungal Endophytes

scholarly journals Transcriptome Analysis of Choke Stroma and Asymptomatic Inflorescence Tissues Reveals Changes in Gene Expression in Both Epichloë festucae and Its Host Plant Festuca rubra subsp. rubra

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 567
Author(s):  
Wang ◽  
Clarke ◽  
Belanger
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Plant Host ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Epichloë Festucae ◽  
Fungal Genes

Many cool-season grasses have symbiotic relationships with Epichloë (Ascomycota, Clavicipitaceae) fungal endophytes that inhabit the intercellular spaces of the above-ground parts of the host plants. The presence of the Epichloë endophytes is generally beneficial to the hosts due to enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses conferred by the endophytes. Many Epichloë spp. are asexual, and those infections always remain asymptomatic. However, some Epichloë spp. have a sexual stage and produce a macroscopic fruiting body, a stroma, that envelops the developing inflorescence causing a syndrome termed “choke disease”. Here, we report a fungal and plant gene expression analysis of choke stroma tissue and asymptomatic inflorescence tissue of Epichloë festucae-infected strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. rubra). Hundreds of fungal genes and over 10% of the plant genes were differentially expressed when comparing the two tissue types. The differentially expressed fungal genes in the choke stroma tissue indicated a change in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as well as a change in expression of numerous genes for candidate effector proteins. Plant stress-related genes were up-regulated in the stroma tissue, suggesting the plant host was responding to the epiphytic stage of E. festucae as a pathogen.

scholarly journals The Epichloë festucae Antifungal Protein Efe-AfpA Is Also a Possible Effector Protein Required for the Interaction of the Fungus with its Host Grass Festuca rubra subsp. rubra

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Ruying Wang ◽  
Simin Luo ◽  
Bruce B. Clarke ◽  
Faith C. Belanger
Keyword(s):  
Disease Resistance ◽  
Insect Resistance ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Antifungal Protein ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Effector Protein ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Symbiotic Interaction ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Epichloë Festucae

Strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. rubra) is a commercially important low-maintenance turfgrass and is often naturally infected with the fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae. Epichloë spp. are endophytes of several cool-season grass species, often conferring insect resistance to the grass hosts due to the production of toxic alkaloids. In addition to insect resistance, a unique feature of the strong creeping red fescue/E. festucae symbiosis is the endophyte-mediated disease resistance to the fungal pathogen Clarireedia jacksonii, the causal agent of dollar spot disease. Such disease resistance is not a general feature of other grass/ Epichloë interactions. E. festucae isolates infecting red fescue have an antifungal protein gene Efe-afpA, whereas most other Epichloë spp. do not have a similar gene. The uniqueness of this gene suggests it may, therefore, be a component of the unique disease resistance seen in endophyte-infected red fescue. Here, we report the generation of CRISPR-Cas9 Efe-afpA gene knockouts with the goal of determining if absence of the protein in endophyte-infected Festuca rubra leads to disease susceptibility. However, it was not possible to infect plants with the knockout isolates, although infection was possible with the wild type E. festucae and with complemented isolates. This raises the interesting possibility that, in addition to having antifungal activity, the protein is required for the symbiotic interaction. The antifungal protein is a small secreted protein with high expression in planta relative to its expression in culture, all characteristics consistent with effector proteins. If Efe-AfpA is an effector protein it must be specific to certain interactions, since most Epichloë spp. do not have such a gene in their genomes.

Effects of systemic fungal endophytes on the performance of meadow fescue and tall fescue in mixtures with red clover

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Dirihan ◽  
M. L. Helander ◽  
I. Saloniemi ◽  
P. E. Gundel ◽  
K. Saikkonen
Keyword(s):  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Meadow Fescue ◽  
Systemic Fungal Endophytes

scholarly journals A Survey of Culturable Fungal Endophytes From Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa, a Grass From Marine Cliffs, Reveals a Core Microbiome

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Pereira ◽  
Beatriz R. Vázquez de Aldana ◽  
Leticia San Emeterio ◽  
Iñigo Zabalgogeazcoa
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Core Microbiome

Fungal endophytes of Festuca rubra increase in frequency following long-term exclusion of rabbits

Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Santangelo ◽  
Nash E. Turley ◽  
Marc T.J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Grass Endophyte ◽  
Defensive Mutualism ◽  
Endophyte Infection

Plant – fungal endophyte interactions are common in nature and they can shape the ecology of plants. Vertically transmitted endophytes are hypothesized to serve as mutualists, protecting plants from herbivores. If this hypothesis is true, then we expect endophytes to be most abundant in the presence of herbivores and least abundant in their absence, assuming endophytes incur a cost to their host. We tested this prediction by studying the effects of intense rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus) grazing on grass–endophyte interactions at Silwood Park, UK. We examined seeds of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) collected from 15 natural populations that were protected from rabbits for 0.3–21 years. Contrary to our prediction, the mean proportion of seeds with endophytes increased 1.84×, from 0.45 to 0.83, following 21 years of rabbit exclusion. To better understand the mechanisms driving this increase in frequency, we conducted a fully factorial greenhouse experiment where we manipulated the presence or absence of endophyte infection, intraspecific competition, and simulated grazing on F. rubra plants. In both damaged and undamaged treatments, infected plants produced approximately twice as much biomass as uninfected plants, and endophytes did not influence tolerance to herbivory. These results suggest that endophytes directly change plant growth but not compensatory responses to damage. In the absence of competitors, infected plants produced 2.17× more biomass than uninfected plants, whereas in the presence of competitors, infected plants produced only 1.55× more biomass than uninfected plants. This difference suggests that intraspecific competition might lessen the benefits of endophyte infection. Our results do not support the defensive mutualism hypothesis, but instead suggest that endophyte-induced plant growth is important in shaping the costs and benefits of endophytes in our system.

Effects of the infection by the fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae in the growth and nutrient content of Festuca rubra

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Íñigo Zabalgogeazcoa ◽  
Antonia García Ciudad ◽  
Beatriz R. Vázquez de Aldana ◽  
Balbino García Criado
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Epichloë Festucae

Systemic fungal endophytes and ploidy level in Festuca vivipara populations in North European Islands

2014 ◽  
Vol 300 (7) ◽  
pp. 1683-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Gundel ◽  
S. Dirihan ◽  
M. Helander ◽  
I. Zabalgogeazcoa ◽  
H. Väre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ploidy Level ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Systemic Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Festuca Vivipara

scholarly journals Non-systemic fungal endophytes in Carex brevicollis may influence the toxicity of the sedge to livestock

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa M. Canals ◽  
Leticia San-Emeterio ◽  
Salud Sanchez-Marquez ◽  
Igor Ruiz de los Mozos ◽  
Pablo Pujol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Systemic Fungal Endophytes
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