2004 Volume 50 Issue 2 Pages 180-186
The endophyte of meadow fescue, Neotyphodium uncinatum, is considered to produce no mammalian toxins, but produce metabolites giving insect resistance and other ecological benefits. Endophyte-free seedlings of Italian ryegrass were inoculated with N. uncinatum. Two months after the inoculation, 89.4% of inoculated plants maintained on 1/2MS medium were alive, whereas 61.7% maintained on water agar. Hyphae of TV. uncinatum were present in leaf sheaths of 2.8% of the seedlings maintained on water agar and 8.8% of those maintained on 1/2MS medium. Open pollinated seeds were tested for the presence of endophyte, and 23 out of 25 plants were infected. We grew seedlings from these plants and observed hyphae in the leaf sheaths. The hyphae isolated from leaf sheaths of these seedlings was confirmed as N. uncinatum.
