Evolution of Epichloë/Neotyphodium Endophytes and Other Clavicipitalean Biotrophs

Annals of Applied Biology

2011

Agricultural microbiology is presented as a synthetic research field responsible for knowledge transfer from general microbiology and microbial ecology to the agricultural biotechnologies. The major goal of agricultural microbiology is a comprehensive analysis of symbiotic micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi) interacting with agriculturally important plants and animals: here we have focussed on plants. In plants, interactions with micro-organisms are diverse, ranging from two-partite symbioses (e.g. legume-rhizobia N 2 -fixing nodular symbioses or arbuscular mycorrhiza) to multipartite endophytic and epiphytic (root-associated, phyllosphere) communities. Two-partite symbioses provide the clearest models for addressing genetic cooperation between partners, resulting in the formation of super-organism genetic systems, which are responsible for host productivity. Analysis of these systems has now been extended considerably by using the approaches of metagenomics, which allow the dissection of taxonomic/population structures and the metabolic/ecological functions of microbial communities, which have resulted from the adaptation of free-living, soil microflora in the endosymbiotic niches. Both beneficial (nutritional, defensive, regulatory) and antagonistic (biocontrol) functions expressed by symbiotic microbes towards their hosts are the potential subjects of effective agronomic use. A fundamental knowledge of the genetics, molecular biology, ecology and evolution of symbiotic interactions could enable the development of microbe-based sustainable agriculture. This could achieve: (a) an improvement of major adaptive functions and productivity in crop plants by manipulating their microbial cohabitants; (b) partial or even full substitution of ecologically hazardous agrochemicals (mineral fertilizers, pesticides) by microbial preparations; (c) a decrease in the cost and an improvement of the quality of agricultural products.Ann Appl Biol 159 (2011) 155-168

Section: Multipartite Symbiotic Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiology is the basis of sustainable agriculture: an opinion

Annals of Applied Biology

2011

“…These infections are initiated by feeding the insects on epiphyte-harboring plants and are resulted in development of mycelia and fruiting bodies just in the killed pests (White et al, 2002).…”

Section: Defensive Symbiosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Strategies and Agronomic Impacts of Plant-Microbe Symbioses

2008

Ecological genetics

The molecular mechanism of the agronomically important nutritional and defensive plantmicrobe symbioses are reviewed. These symbioses are based on the signaling interactions which result in the development of novel tissue/cellular structures and of extended metabolic capacities in the partners which improve greatly the adaptive potential of plants due to an increased tolerance to biotic or abiotic stresses. The molecular, genetic and ecological knowledge on plant-microbe interactions provide a strategy for a sustainable crop production based on substituting the agrochemicals (mineral fertilizers, pesticides) by the microbial inoculants. An improvement of plantmicrobe symbioses should involve the coordinated partners' modifications resulted in complementary combinations of their genotypes.

“…An interesting group of plant protectors is represented by Clavicipitaceaen genus Cordyceps, a symptom-less or moderately pathogenic epiphyte that causes lethal infections in phytophagous insects. These infections are initiated by the insects feeding on epiphyte-harboring plants and result in the development of mycelia and fruiting bodies only in the killed pests [94].…”

Section: Defense From Phytophagansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooperation of plants and microorganisms: Getting closer to the genetic construction of sustainable agro‐systems

2007

Biotechnology Journal

The molecular research into two types of beneficial plant-microbe symbioses is reviewed: nutritional (with N(2)-fixing bacteria or mycorrhizal fungi) and defensive (with endo- and epiphytic microbes suppressing pathogens and phytophagans). These symbioses are based on the signaling interactions that result in the development of novel tissue/cellular structures and of extended metabolic capacities in the partners, which greatly improve the adaptive potential of plants due to a decrease in their sensitivity to biotic and abiotic stresses. The molecular, genetic and ecological knowledge on plant-microbe interactions provides a strategy for the organization of sustainable crop production based on substituting the agrochemicals (mineral fertilizers, pesticides) by microbial inoculants. An improvement of plant-microbe symbioses should involve the coordinated modifications in the partners' genotypes resulting in highly complementary combinations. These modifications should be based on the broad utilization of genetic resources from natural symbiotic systems aimed at: (i) increased competitiveness of the introduced (effective) with respect to local (ineffective) microbial strains, and (ii) overcoming the limiting steps in the metabolic machineries of the symbiotic systems.