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Effects of fungal endophytes on the seed and seedling biology of Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea

Effects of fungal endophytes on the seed and seedling biology of Lolium perenne and Festuca... Many grasses are infected by endophytic fungi that grow intercellularly in leaves, stems, and flowers and are transmitted maternally by hyphal growth into ovules and seeds. The seed biology and seedling growth of endophyte-infected and uninfected perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) and tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea ) were investigated under controlled environmental conditions. The percentage of filled seeds produced by infected tall fescue was over twice of uninfected tall fescue; infected and uninfected perennial reegrass had similar percentages. Weights of seeds from infected and uninfected plants were similar in both species. Seeds from infected plants of both species exhibited a higher rate of germination than seeds from uninfected plants. Shoot growth in the greenhouse was compared by making three sequential harvests of above-ground plant parts from infected and uninfected plants of both species. Infected perennial ryegrass plants produced significantly more biomass and tillers than uninfected plants after 6 and 10 weeks of growth and significantly more biomass after 14 weeks of growth. Infected tall fescue plants produced significantly more biomass and tillers than uninfected plants after 10 and 14 weeks of growth. The physiological mechanism of enhancement of growth is not known. The results of this study suggest that infected plants may have a selective advantage in populations with uninfected members. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Oecologia Springer Journals

Effects of fungal endophytes on the seed and seedling biology of Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea

Clay, K.
Oecologia , Volume 73 (3) – Sep 1, 1987
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References (36)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 by Springer-Verlag
Subject
Life Sciences; Ecology; Plant Sciences
ISSN
0029-8549
eISSN
1432-1939
DOI
10.1007/BF00385251
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Many grasses are infected by endophytic fungi that grow intercellularly in leaves, stems, and flowers and are transmitted maternally by hyphal growth into ovules and seeds. The seed biology and seedling growth of endophyte-infected and uninfected perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) and tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea ) were investigated under controlled environmental conditions. The percentage of filled seeds produced by infected tall fescue was over twice of uninfected tall fescue; infected and uninfected perennial reegrass had similar percentages. Weights of seeds from infected and uninfected plants were similar in both species. Seeds from infected plants of both species exhibited a higher rate of germination than seeds from uninfected plants. Shoot growth in the greenhouse was compared by making three sequential harvests of above-ground plant parts from infected and uninfected plants of both species. Infected perennial ryegrass plants produced significantly more biomass and tillers than uninfected plants after 6 and 10 weeks of growth and significantly more biomass after 14 weeks of growth. Infected tall fescue plants produced significantly more biomass and tillers than uninfected plants after 10 and 14 weeks of growth. The physiological mechanism of enhancement of growth is not known. The results of this study suggest that infected plants may have a selective advantage in populations with uninfected members.

Journal

Oecologia – Springer Journals

Published: Sep 1, 1987

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