All plants, including crop species, harbor a community of fungal endophyte species, yet we know little about the biotic factors that are important in endophyte community assembly. We suggest that the most direct route to understanding the mechanisms underlying community assembly is through the study of functional trait variation in the host and its fungal consortium. We review studies on crop e...

The focus of many fungal endophyte studies has been how plants benefit from endophyte infection. Few studies have investigated the role of the host plant as an environment in shaping endophyte community diversity and composition. The effects that different attributes of the host plant, that is, host genetic variation, host variation in resistance to the fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis and U. ma...

Plants host a vast diversity of fungal symbionts inside their tissues that live in close proximity with each other to form rich and dynamic communities. Although endophytes can affect plant–herbivore interactions in several ways, it is still not known to what extent such effects are influenced by the properties of endophyte communities or by particular species traits. Here we compared the effec...

1. All plants form symbioses with microfungi, known as endophytes, which live within plant tissues. Numerous studies have documented endophyte–herbivore antagonism in grass systems, but plant–endophyte–insect interactions are highly variable for forbs and woody plants. 2. The net effect of endophytes on insect herbivory may be modified by their interactions with higher trophic levels, such as p...

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is an important forage resource for beef (Bos taurus L.) production in the North–South transition zone. Recently, the cultivar ‘Jesup’ was released to provide improved stand survival when infected with a novel (nontoxic) endophyte marketed as MaxQ (Pennington Seed, Madison, GA), and warrants evaluation as a source of winter hay for beef cattle. Intake a...

Tall fescue grass cultivars with or without endophytes were evaluated for their susceptibility to Meloidogyne incognita in the greenhouse. Tall fescue cultivars evaluated included, i) wild-type Jesup (E+, ergot-producing endophyte present), ii) endophyte-free Jesup (E-, no endophyte present), iii) Jesup (Max-Q, non-ergot producing endophyte) and iv) Georgia 5 (E+). Peach was included as the con...

Numerous plant pathogens, rhizosphere symbionts, and endophytic bacteria and yeasts produce the important phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), often with profound effects on host plants. However, to date IAA production has not been documented among foliar endophytes -- the diverse guild of primarily filamentous Ascomycota that live within healthy, above-ground tissues of all plant species s...

Cattle grazing tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) often develop fescue toxicosis. This condition is thought to be caused by ergot alkaloids produced by the endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum. Endophytes from wild tall fescue plants, which do not produce ergot alkaloids, were transferred into the endophyte-free tall fescue germplasm, HiMag. The novel associations also lacked the ability ...

Sixty-four growing steers were used in a split-plot experiment, where the whole plot was pasture, and implant level. Whole treatment 4 × 2 factorial with four levels of fescue (High Endophyte, Low Novel, or Endophyte Free) two legume (Legumes No Legumes). The included (No Implant, Synovex One Grass, Revalor-G, Ralgro). Data collected weights ultrasound carcass characteristics when coming off gr...