Author
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Clement, Stephen |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 9/7/2000 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Surveys for Neotyphodium endophytes in C3 grasses are an important component of endophyte research. For example, they identify natural hosts of endophytes and potential sources of diverse endophytes for use in developing new endophyte-grass combinations for pest resistance and livestock production. They also generate data on patterns of infection frequency in plant communities. Although surveys of repository collections have revealed a relatively low incidence of endophyte infection among grass accessions, post-1990 surveys confirm that Neotyphodium endophytes are common inhabitants of several grass taxa growing in their centers of origin in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Thus, newly collected seed of wild grasses should harbor diverse Neotyphodium fungi to bolster holdings of this microbial germplasm in seed-banks. This talk reviews progress in recording the presence and diversity of endophytes in seed collections and efforts to collect diverse Neotyphodium fungi in wild host plants for addition to national seed collections. Noteworthy among several recent developments is the discovery that wild Triticum and Hordeum in Asia and wild Festuca and Poa in South America harbor endophytes. New surveys of seed collections and field plants are critical for expanding the existing endophyte information base. |
