Invertebrate diversity on sleepy grass (Achnatherum robustum) infected with the alkaloid-producing Neotyphodium endophyte
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Authors
Faust, Mara K.
Issue Date
2004
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Sleepy grass is a native grass of the southwestern United States that is inhabited by a
symbiotic fungal endophyte of the genus Neotyphodium. Endophytes, by definition, are fungi
that reside entirely within the tissues of their host plant throughout most of their life cycle. It
has been proposed that the ancestors of endophytes were pathogenic fungi that developed
specialized relationships with their host plants. The relationship between Neotyphodium and its
host grasses is thought to be mutualistic. The endophyte produces several types of noxious
alkaloids that are known to cause toxicosis in vertebrate herbivores such as cattle. In fact,
plants infected with the endophyte are avoided by some vertebrate herbivores. In this
investigation, it was hypothesized that the alkaloid levels produced by a plant’s endophytic
fungi result in a change in community composition on the plant.
Description
1 broadside : ill.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College