• Title/Summary/Keyword: Non-toxic endophyte

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Effect of Tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix Scop.) Genotype on Endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) Transmission under Water stress

  • Noh, Jaejong;Ju, Ho-Jong
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.325-334
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    • 2012
  • It has been known that endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) is beneficial to tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix Scop.) because the mutualistic endophyte is able to confers tolerance against abiotic and biotic stresses to tall fescue. However, this fungal endophyte produces toxic alkaloid resulting in negative effects on animal performance. Recently, Non-toxic endophyte have been developed and inserted into tall fescue to avoid detrimental effect on animal but remaining positive influence on tall fescue. In order to keep this beneficial impact, it is essential to have endophyte infected tall fescue through vertical transmission from maternal plants to seeds. Little research has been carried out on endophyte transmission. To get basic information related to endophyte transmission, experiment was conducted to examine the effect of plant genotype on endophyte transmission under water stresses. Overall endophyte concentration in seeds was higher than that in panicles and endophyte concentration in seeds and panicles relied on plant. This study revealed that drought is not a critical component to control the endophyte transmission from maternal plants to seeds. Plant genotype is an important factor controlling the endophyte transmission from plant to seed.

Development of Real-time PCR Assay Based on Hydrolysis Probe for Detection of Epichloë spp. and Toxic Alkaloid Synthesis Genes

  • Lee, Ki-Won;Woo, Jae Hoon;Song, Yowook;Rahman, Md Atikur;Lee, Sang-Hoon
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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    • v.42 no.3
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    • pp.201-207
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    • 2022
  • Fescues, which are widely cultivated as grasses and forages around the world, are often naturally infected with the endophyte, Epichloë. This fungus, transmitted through seeds, imparts resistance to drying and herbivorous insects in its host without causing any external damage, thereby contributing to the adaptation of the host to the environment and maintaining a symbiosis. However, some endophytes, such as E. coenophialum synthesize ergovaline or lolitrem B, which accumulate in the plant and impart anti-mammalian properties. For example, when livestock consume excessive amounts of grass containing toxic endophytes, problems associated with neuromuscular abnormalities, such as convulsions, paralysis, high fever, decreased milk production, reproductive disorders, and even death, can occur. Therefore, pre-inoculation with non-toxic endogenous fungi or management with endophyte-free grass is important in preventing damage to livestock and producing high-quality forage. To date, the diagnosis of endophytes has been mainly performed by observation under a microscope following staining, or by performing an immune blot assay using a monoclonal antibody. Recently, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular diagnostic method is gaining importance in the fields of agriculture, livestock, and healthcare given the method's advantages. These include faster results, with greater accuracy and sensitivity than those obtained using conventional diagnostic methods. For the diagnosis of endophytes, the nested PCR method is the only available option developed; however, it is limited by the fact that the level of toxic alkaloid synthesis cannot be estimated. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to develop a triplex real-time PCR diagnostic method that can determine the presence or absence of endophyte infection using DNA extracted from seeds within 1 h, while simultaneously detecting easD and LtmC genes, which are related to toxic alkaloid synthesis. This new method was then also applied to real field samples.