We examined the effect of endophyte infection level of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) used for stockpiled forage on the performance of lactating, fallscalving beef cows and their calves. Treatments were endophyte infection levels of 20% (low; SEM = 3.5), 51%, (medium; SEM = 1.25), and 89% (high; SEM = 2.4; 4 replications/treatment). Five cow-calf pairs grazed in each replicate (n = 6...

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is the most commonly used cultivated grass in the United States to feed beef cattle. Tall fescue is a cool-season perennial grass that many cattle producers ‘can’t live with, but can’t live without’ because of its hardiness and good forage yields, but adverse effects on cattle well-being and yields. The history of this forage and its effects on animal p...

Birds and other forms of wildlife are a major issue for airport authorities worldwide, as they can create hazards to operating aircraft. Wildlife "strikes," the majority caused by birds, can cause damage to operating aircraft and in severe cases lead to a loss of human life. Many airfields contain large areas of ground cover herbage alongside their runways that consist of mixtures of grasses, l...

Grammothele lineata, an endophyte isolated in our laboratory from jute (Corchorus olitorius acc. 2015) was found to be a substantial paclitaxel producer. Taxol and its related compounds, produced by this endophyte were extracted by growing the fungus in simple nutrient media (potato dextrose broth, PDB). Taxol was identified and characterized by different analytical techniques (TLC, HPLC, FTIR,...

The microbial conversion of solid cellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels may provide a renewable energy source for transportation fuels. Endophytes represent a promising group of organisms, as they are a mostly untapped reservoir of metabolic diversity. They are often able to degrade cellulose, and they can produce an extraordinary diversity of metabolites. The filamentous fungal endophyte Ascoc...

In this study, the effects of strain Beauveria bassiana (LPSC 1067) as an endophyte in corn plants on consumption, fecundity, and food preference of Dichroplus maculipennis were examined. We observed that the daily consumption by grasshoppers fed with control plants was almost twice that of those that were fed treated plants. Significant differences in fecundity of grasshoppers that were fed wi...

Two experiments were conducted to assess effects of endophyte treatments (Exp. 1), forage species (Exp. 2), and supplementation (Exp. 2) on urea production, excretion, and recycling in beef steers. Infusion of (15,15)N-urea and enrichment of urea in urine samples were used to calculate urea-N entry and recycling to the gut. Acceptably stable enrichment of (15)N-urea in urine was obtained after ...

Fourteen Hereford steers were used to compare carcass traits, meat quality, and fatty acid composition of beef from cattle grazing tall fescue infected with either wild-type (E+; n = 6) or novel, nil ergot alkaloid (AR542; n = 8) endophyte for 209 d. Average daily gain, live weight, and HCW were greater (P < 0.05) for AR542 cattle than for E+. No differences in LM color or pH were observed betw...

The community of endophytic fungi associated with Acer ginnala, a common tree in northeastern China, was investigated. Four media, PDA, Czapek's, WA and Sabouraud's, were used to inoculate explants from seeds, annual twigs and perennial twigs (xylem and bark). Media strongly affected the isolated species number, but not colonization frequency (CF) or isolation frequency (IF). To investigate med...