2006 Volume 51 Issue 4 Pages 390-397
Festuca pratensis (meadow fescue) infected with the endophyte Neotyphodium uncinatum contains loline alkaloids that are not found in the uninfected grass or the fungus alone. The presence of loline alkaloids protects the plants from some insect pests. In this study, accumulation of N-formylloline (NFL) and N-acetylloline (NAL) in Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass) and F. pratensis plants inoculated with N. uncinatum was followed from pre-overwintering (early winter) to seed-formation stage (summer). Loline concentrations were low in winter and increased toward the flowering stage. Generally, meadow fescue showed higher NFL and NAL concentrations than Italian ryegrass (about 2,000 vs. 1,400ppm NFL and about 450 vs. 80ppm NAL at the flowering stage). However, for seeds, one Italian ryegrass plant showed a NFL concentration (5,844ppm) comparable to that in meadow fescue (1,698-6,260ppm).
