Mutualistic fungal endophytes in the Triticeae – survey and description. Issue 1 (21st January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Card, Stuart D.; Faville, Marty J.; Simpson, Wayne R.; Johnson, Richard D.; Voisey, Christine R.; de, Anouck C. M.; Hume, David E.
• Is Part Of: FEMS microbiology ecology. Volume 88:Issue 1(2014)
• Page Start: 94
• Page End: 106
• Publication Date: 2014-01-21
• Subjects: Microbial ecology -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.17
• DOI: 10.1111/1574-6941.12273
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-6496

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="fem12273-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Grasses of the tribe <italic>Triticeae</italic> were screened to determine the presence of mutualistic epichloae fungal endophytes. Over 1500 accessions, from more than 250 species, encompassing 22 genera within the <italic>Triticeae</italic> were screened using immunodetection and direct staining/microscopy techniques. Only two genera, <italic>Elymus</italic> and <italic>Hordeum</italic>, 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 <italic>Hordeum</italic> grouped with those derived from <italic>Elymus</italic>, and amongst the <italic>Elymus</italic>‐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 <italic>Triticeae</italic> 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.</p> </abstract>