A 2-yr grazing experiment was conducted with crossbred steers (8 to 10 mo and with initial BW of 304 kg ± 34 kg in 2008 and 277 kg ± 24 in 2009) to evaluate animal performance and pasture responses of a late maturing tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh; KYFA9301] population infected with the AR584 novel, non-toxic endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum; NE9301) as compared with Ken...

This experiment was conducted to evaluate if consumption of endophyte-infected fescue alters digital circulation in the distal thoracic limb of the horse and to assess if soundness of the hooves of horses is affected by consumption of endophyte-infected fescue. Twelve American Quarter Horses (mean initial BW 459 ± 31 kg), 6 mares and 6 geldings, were used in this 90-d study that comprised high-...

endophytes are important resources of bioactive compounds and due to their potential in theproduction of secondary metabolites, they are regarded as a potential reservoir ofbiotechnological applications. in this study, the bioactivity of bacteria and yeasts endophytesresiding in thymus sp. was evaluated. during april to october 2011, symptomless and healthytissues of thymus sp. were collected. ...

Atmospheric CO2 is expected to increase to between 550 ppm and 1000 ppm in the next century. CO2-induced changes in plant physiology can have ecosystem-wide implications and may alter plant-plant, plant-herbivore and plant-symbiont interactions. We examined the effects of three concentrations of CO2 (390ppm, 800ppm and 1000ppm) and two concentrations of nitrogen fertilizer (0.004gN/week vs. 0.2...

• Ryegrass staggers is a neurotoxic condition that adversely affects livestock Visual detection of ryegrass labor intensive Accelerometers can detect behavior changes associated with Machine learning and accelerometers have potential to Random Forests was superior Signal Vector Machines for prediction Perennial (staggers) in caused by consumption ( Lolium perenne ) infected specific strains Epi...

The grass Ammophila breviligulata (American beachgrass) is known to host an endophyte of the genus Epichloë. Based on morphological characteristics it was originally identified as Acremonium typhinum var. ammophilae and is currently designated as Epichloë typhina var. ammophilae. However, the Epichloë species has not previously been identified based on DNA sequence data. Based on phylogenetic p...

For tall fescue in the southeastern USA, long term persistence, competitiveness, yield, and summer survival are directly related to the presence of a fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum; formerly called Acremonium coenophialum) living in the fescue plant. However, cattle grazing forage from the predominant USA tall fescue cultivars infected with their naturally occurring endophyte strai...

Wilson, A. D., Clement, S. L., and Kaiser, W. J. 1991. Survey and detection of endophytic fungi in Lolium germ plasm by direct staining and aphid assays. Plant Dis. 75:169-173. Clavicipitaceous anamorphic endophytes were detected in 28 of 85 accessions from five of eight species in a collection of Lolium germ plasm. Comparative descriptions of endophytic mycelium in seeds of L. multiflorum, L. ...

Grasses infected with clavicipitaceous fungi have been associated with a variety of diseases including classical ergotism in humans and animals, fescue foot and summer syndrome in cattle, and rye-grass staggers in sheep. During the last decade it has been recognized that many of these fungal infections are endophytic; a fungal endophyte is a fungus that grows entirely within the host plant. Ins...

Grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue (E+) negatively impacts cattle feed intake and growth negatively (Crawford et al., 1989). However, the interaction between environmental factors and animal genetics may influence important cattle growth measurements before and after the weaning process (Phillips et al, 2001). For example, polymorphisms (mutations) in the prolactin and cytochrome P450 genes...