Endophytic fungus decreases plant virus infections in meadow ryegrass ( Lolium pratense )

We studied the effects of fungal endophyte infection of meadow ryegrass ( Lolium pratense = Festuca pratensis ) on the frequency of the barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). The virus is transferred by aphids, which may be deterred by endophyte-origin alkaloids within the plant. In our experiment, we released viruliferous aphid vectors on endophyte-infected and endophyte-free plants in a common garden. The number of aphids and the percentage of BYDV infections were lower in endophyte-infected plants compared to endophyte-free plants, indicating that endophyte infection may protect meadow ryegrass from BYDV infections.