Benefits of a fungal endophyte in Elymus virginicus decline under drought stress

Rudgers, Jennifer A.; Swafford, Angela L.

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2007.12.004

Cited by 65 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Similarly, endophyte infection increased shoot biomass significantly more in fertilized treatment than in the unfertilized treatment. These findings are in agreement with the previous reports on the agronomically important turf grass, tall fescue (Arachevaleta et al 1989;Malinowski and Belesky 2000), and in native grasses (Rudgers and Swafford 2009). In contrast, these results differ from those obtained in Danthonia spicata and Arizona fescue, in which EI plants had a performance disadvantage relative to EF plants under well-watered fertilized (HH) conditions (McCormick et al 2001;Faeth et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Morse et al (2002) found that in Arizona fescue (Festuca arizonica Vasey) endophyte infection was beneficial to host performance under low water availability. Rudgers and Swafford (2009) have reported that the benefits of a fungal endophyte declined under drought stress in Elymus virginicus L. In contrast, no benefits of endophyte infection for Festuca rubra L. and F. pratensis Huds. were found under drought stress (Ahlholm et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Benefits of a symbiotic association with endophytic fungi are subject to water and nutrient availability in Achnatherum sibiricum

et al. 2011

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Symbiotic relationships with microbes may influence how plants respond to environmental change. Here, we investigated how fungal endophyte infection affected the growth of a native grass under altered water and nutrient availability. In a two-month field experiment, we compared the performance of endophyte-infected (EI) and endophyte-free (EF) Achnatherum sibiricum subjected to four treatments comprised of a factorial combination of two levels of water availability and two levels of fertilization. The greatest benefits of endophyte infection occurred in the well-watered fertilized treatment. With reduced water and/or nutrient availability, the benefits declined. EI plants subjected to drought and fertilization had higher root:shoot ratios and allocated more nitrogen to photosynthetic machinery and thus had a higher net photosynthetic rate than EF counterparts. In the wellwatered unfertilized treatment, EF plants allocated more nutrients to photosynthetic machinery, while EI plants allocated more resources to defense. Thus EI plants were superior to EF plants in terms of nutrient conservation. In the drought unfertilized treatment, no significant difference occurred between EI and EF plants. Our results support the idea that the endophytegrass interactions are dependent on available resources. However, we did not find a clear cost of endophyte infection. For A. sibiricum, fertilizer addition resulted in greater benefits of the symbiosis for plant growth, but this advantage decreased under drought.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Benefits of a symbiotic association with endophytic fungi are subject to water and nutrient availability in Achnatherum sibiricum

et al. 2011

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“…We noted above that a grass was only half as much affected by drought if colonised by an endophyte (Rudgers and Swafford 2009). Indeed endophytes may confer both abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in grasses, including cereals, and this feature could be targeted as a breeding objective (Newton et al 2010a).…”

Section: Managing Crop Systems For Resiliencementioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, we should also consider the role of other organisms in the crop environment or within the crop itself. For example, the grass Elymus virginicus was only half as much affected by drought if infected with an endophyte Epichloe elymi (Rudgers and Swafford 2009). Endophytes have largely been excluded by the approaches used in major crop breeding programs as well as common agronomic practices.…”

Section: Water Other Effects and Extremesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of climate change for diseases, crop yields and food security

Newton¹,

Johnson²,

Gregory³

2011

Euphytica

217

116

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Accelerated climate change affects components of complex biological interactions differentially, often causing changes that are difficult to predict. Crop yield and quality are affected by climate change directly, and indirectly, through diseases that themselves will change but remain important. These effects are difficult to dissect and model as their mechanistic bases are generally poorly understood. A combination of integrated modelling from different disciplines and multi-factorial experimentation is needed to advance our understanding and prioritisation of the challenges. This will help prioritise breeding objectives. Food security brings in additional socio-economic, geographical and political factors. Enhancing resilience to the effects of climate change is important for all these systems and functional diversity, particularly in tolerance traits for abiotic and biotic stress, is one of the most effective targets for improved sustainability.

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“…Endophyte disinfection was achieved by heating a subset of seeds to 60°C in a convection oven for 7 d (see also Rudgers and Swafford 2009). Control seeds were placed at room temperature during this period.…”

Section: Endophyte Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water availability alters the tri-trophic consequences of a plant-fungal symbiosis

Yule

Woolley

Rudgers

2010

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

Self Cite

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Plant-microbe protection symbioses occur when a symbiont defends its host against enemies (e.g., insect herbivores); these interactions can have important influences on arthropod abundance and composition. Understanding factors that generate context-dependency in protection symbioses will improve predictions on when and where symbionts are most likely to affect the ecology and evolution of host species and their associated communities. Of particular relevance are changes in abiotic contexts that are projected to accompany global warming. For example, increased drought stress can enhance the benefits of fungal symbiosis in plants, which may have multi-trophic consequences for plant-associated arthropods. Here, we tracked colonization of fungal endophyte-symbiotic and aposymbiotic Poa autumnalis (autumn bluegrass) by Rhopalosiphum padi (bird-cherry-oat aphids) and their parasitoids (Aphelinus sp.) following manipulations of soil water levels. Endophyte symbiosis significantly reduced plant colonization by aphids. Under low water, symbiotic plants also supported a significantly higher proportion of aphids that were parasitized by Aphelinus and had higher aboveground biomass than aposymbiotic plants, but these endophyte-mediated effects disappeared under high water. Thus, the multi-trophic consequences of plant-endophyte symbiosis were contingent on the abiotic context, suggesting the potential for complex responses in the arthropod community under future climate shifts.

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Benefits of a fungal endophyte in Elymus virginicus decline under drought stress

Cited by 65 publications

References 43 publications

Benefits of a symbiotic association with endophytic fungi are subject to water and nutrient availability in Achnatherum sibiricum

Benefits of a symbiotic association with endophytic fungi are subject to water and nutrient availability in Achnatherum sibiricum

Implications of climate change for diseases, crop yields and food security

Water availability alters the tri-trophic consequences of a plant-fungal symbiosis

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