This study was designed to assess effects of a diet containing endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum)-infected tall fescue seed on litter growth and development in mice. Twenty pairs of mature CD-1 mice were allocated to dietary treatments containing 50% (wt/wt) rodent chow plus either 50% endophyte-infected tall fescue seed or seed that was not infected. At parturition, six pups of approximately equal BW and sex ratio were selected from each litter and fostered to each of the dams for suckling, resulting in four suckling groups. Pups born to dams fed the infected diet weighed less at birth and experienced developmental delays in BW gain and in eye opening (16.7 vs. 13.7 d) regardless of the foster dam's diet. Pups born of dams fed the diet that was not infected attained the greatest growth rates and weaning weights; those suckling dams fed the diet that was not infected demonstrated the largest gains. Pups born of and suckled by dams fed the infected diet demonstrated greatly reduced growth rates and weaning weights compared with the other groups. Results suggest that the congenital effect on pups born of dams fed an infected diet was significant in lowering the growth rate of the pups during suckling. The dam's ability to provide nourishment to the pups also was lowered when fed this diet. When these two factors were combined, the differences were greater than for either factor separately.
This study was undertaken to determine whether mice could be used as a small animal bioassay to study the effects of endophyte (Acremonium lotiO-infected perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) on growth and reproduction. Seventy-two CD-l mice (36 males and 36 females) were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments and housed separately for 56 days before being allowed to cohabit for 49 days. The diets included ad libitum feeding of rations containing 50% (v/w) Purina Rodent Chow plus 50, 37.5, 25, or 0% infected 'Grasslands Nui' perennial ryegrass seed, and rations containing either 50% un-infected seed or 100% rodent chow restricted to the average daily intake of the 50% infected diet (pair-fed). The 37.5 and 25% diets were made to 100% with uninfected seeds. Mice fed the 50% infected seed diet did not consume less food but gained significantly less weight (P < 0.05) than the other treatment mice during the 56-day trial. All mice fed ryegrass seed gained less than the mice fed restricted chow (P < 0.05) during this time. The parturition data indicated a trend of fewer pups per litter and significantly lower (P < 0.05) total litter weight and mean weight per pup born from mice fed the 50% infected seed diet. Mice fed the 50% infected seed diet had fewer pups that survived through a 14-day suckling period, because of cannibalism. Aberrant beha viour was also noted in mice fed the toxic diets. The reduced growth rate and reproductive performance in mice fed the endophyte-containing diets may lead to a bioassay for general toxicity of endophyte-infected perennial ryegrass.
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