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Proceedings
EFFICIENT METHODS FOR DETECTING ENDOPHYTES IN GRASSES - A DEMAND IN BREEDING AND TESTING OF ENDOPHYTE-INFECTED VARIETIES
H. Hahn and W. Schöberlein
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Agricultural Faculty
Institute of Agronomy and Crop Science, Seed Science
E.-Abderhalden-Str. 27, 06108 Halle, Germany
In the most important European forage grasses of Festuca spp. and Lolium perenne infections with endophytic fungi of the genera Neotyphodium or Epichloé occur frequently. The endosymbiotic fungi of Neotyphodium grow intercellularly in the plant without developing visible symptoms. However, reliable information on the incidence of endophytic fungi is essential for grass breeding and variety testing because of potential benefits of an endophyte infection, which, on the one hand, may induce enhanced growth, improved stress tolerance and increased insect resistance and, on the other hand, may cause toxicosis in animals due to the produced alkaloids. Therefore, a tissue print immunoblot technique has been developed for rapid and sensitive detection of endophytic fungi in Festuca species. This method is efficient, easy to handle and can be used for both routine and experimental endophyte detection. In addition to detailed results of different experiments, a comparison between endophyte detection by means of tissue print and microscopic staining is given.
Keywords: endophyte; Neotyphodium spp.; detection; tissue print immunoblot assay.