No abstract

Grasses of the tribe Triticeae were screened to determine the presence of mutualistic epichloae fungal endophytes. Over 1500 accessions, from more than 250 species, encompassing 22 genera within the Triticeae were screened using immunodetection and direct staining/microscopy techniques. Only two genera, Elymus and Hordeum, were identified as harbouring epichloae endophytes with accessions native to a range of countries including Canada, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia and the USA. Genetic analysis based on simple sequence repeat data revealed that the majority of endophytes cluster according to geographical regions rather than to host species; many strains isolated from Hordeum grouped with those derived from Elymus, and amongst the Elymus-derived strains, there was no clear correspondence between clustering topology and host species. This is the first detailed survey demonstrating the genetic diversity of epichloae endophytes within the Triticeae and highlights the importance of germplasm centres for not only preserving the genetic diversity of plant species but also the beneficial microorganisms they may contain.

Two Neotyphodium fungal endophyte strains (AR601 and AR604) that produce high levels of ergovaline and loline alkaloids were inoculated into turf tall fescue for the purpose of producing symbioses that deter birds. The endophyteÁgrass associations were shown to be stably transmitted and, in preliminary experiments, reduced insect and bird numbers at an airport and reduced faecal contamination of a sports field by birds. Cultivar 'Jackal' infected with endophyte strain AR601 has been released commercially.

Twenty half-sibling families of perennial ryegrass inoculated with a strain of endophyte isolated from tall fescue were analysed for loline concentrations. Inoculation success varied between families. Frequency of loline expression of different families varied moderately. Family effect on loline concentrations was significant. In another set of material, derived from plants exposed to field selection, endophyte infection frequency in seed harvested from plants verified as infected was close to 100%. Loline concentrations varied significantly between families. For nine of 23 families, none of the three plants sampled showed any measurable loline. As in other data sets, the results show variation in concentrations of endophyte alkaloids controlled by the genetics of the host plant. Keywords: Neotyphodium, host variation, adaptation, symbiosis, lolines

We report a preliminary survey of the endophytic bacterial microbiota of seed from wild carrot ( Daucus carota ) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes , Firmicutes , and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla detected, while Bacillus , Massilia , Paenibacillus , Pantoea , Pseudomonas , Rhizobium , Sphingomonas , and Xanthomonas were the most abundant genera.