The Effect of Seed-Borne Fungi and Epichloë Endophyte on Seed Germination and Biomass of Elymus sibiricus

Abstract

The interactive effects of asexual Epichloë (formerly known as Neotyphodium) endophytes isolated from Hordeum brevisubulatum, Elymus tangutorum and Achnatherum inebrians, and seed-borne fungi on Elymus sibiricus seeds, were determined by an in vitro study using supernatants from liquid cultures of the endophyte strains. In an 8 week greenhouse study, the effects on the seedlings growth was measured. The in vitro study was carried out with the seed-borne fungi Alternaria alternata, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Fusarium avenaceum, and a Fusarium sp. isolated from E. sibiricus. Different concentrations and combinations of the liquid cultures of endophytic fungi enhanced the interim germination, germination rate, length of coleoptile and radicle, and seedling dry weight of E. sibiricus under stress from seed-borne fungi. In the greenhouse study, different concentrations of the supernatant of the endophytes from H. brevisubulatum and E. tangutorum but not A. inebrians, signficantly (P < 0.05) enhanced E. sibiricus seed germination. There was no significant (P > 0.05) increase of the tiller numbers after 2 weeks. However, later on, there were significant (P < 0.05) increases in tiller number (4–8 weeks), seedling height (2–8 weeks) and dry weight (2–8 weeks). The application of Epichloë endophyte culture supernatants was an effective strategy to improve seed germination and growth under greenhouse conditions.

Analysis of endophytic and rhizosphere bacterial diversity and function in the endangered plant Paeonia ludlowii

“…Endophyte studies might provide a way to improve seed germination. A large number of articles have documented that endophytes can facilitate interim germination and improve the germination rate, length of coleoptiles and radicles, seedling dry weight, stress resistance and early plant development (Gao and Shi 2018 ; Li et al 2017 ; Hubbard et al 2014 ); however, the endophytes of P. ludlowii have not been explored.…”

Effects of Seasonal Variation on the Alkaloids of Different Ecotypes of Epichloë Endophyte-Festuca sinensis Associations

“…They are an important component that colonizes in healthy tissues of living plants and can be readily isolated from any microbial or plant growth medium. Endophytic fungal associations with grasses are very common, and the most intensively studied are those between ascomycete fungi and temperate grasses, in particular those involving asexual endophytes of the genus Epichloë (Schardl et al, 2004; Li et al, 2017). Negative impact on herbivores is attributed to secondary metabolites alkaloids, which are produced by the endophytic fungus-grass symbiosis (Schardl et al, 2004).…”

Editorial special issue: the soil, the seed, the microbes and the plant

“…However, for seeds and their microbiota, there remain large gaps in our knowledge. Seed transmission of some microorganisms like Epichloids in grasses (Kauppinen et al 2016;Saikkonen et al 2016) or phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria (Li et al 2017;Brader et al 2017) have been relatively well studied. However, seed transmission of many plant-associated microorganisms remains unknown.…”