Epichloe Endophyte Infection rates and Alkaloid Content in Commercially Available Grass Seed Mixtures in Europe
Microorganisms, (2020)Krauss, Jochen
Vikuk, Veronika
Young, Carolyn A
Krischke, Markus
Mueller, Martin J
Baerenfaller, Katja
eng
KR 3559/3-2/Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/
Switzerland
2020/04/05
Microorganisms. 2020 Mar 31;8(4):498. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8040498..DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8040498
Abstract
Fungal endophytes of the genus Epichloe live symbiotically in cool season grass species and can produce alkaloids toxic to insects and vertebrates, yet reports of intoxication of grazing animals have been rare in Europe in contrast to overseas. However, due to the beneficial resistance traits observed in Epichloe infected grasses, the inclusion of Epichloe in seed mixtures might become increasingly advantageous. Despite the toxicity of fungal alkaloids, European seed mixtures are rarely tested for Epichloe infection and their infection status is unknown for consumers. In this study, we tested 24 commercially available seed mixtures for their infection rates with Epichloe endophytes and measured the concentrations of the alkaloids ergovaline, lolitrem B, paxilline, and peramine. We detected Epichloe infections in six seed mixtures, and four contained vertebrate and insect toxic alkaloids typical for Epichloe festucae var. lolii infecting Lolium perenne. As Epichloe infected seed mixtures can harm livestock, when infected grasses become dominant in the seeded grasslands, we recommend seed producers to test and communicate Epichloe infection status or avoiding Epichloe infected seed mixtures.