Diversity of Epichloë in Hordeum comosum from Patagonia, Argentina

CASAS, C.; IANNONE L.J.; VIGNALE M.V.,; GUNDEL P.E.; MC CARGO, P.D.; NOVAS M.V.,

Salamanca

Congreso; 10th International Symposium on Endophytes of grasses; 2018

Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca, IRNASA-CSIC

Hordeum comosum J. Presl is a native, perennial grass widespread in Patagonia and in the Andean regionof South America. This species is an excellent forage grass highly preferred by sheep. A previous local study[1],based on tubB and tefA phylogenies of isolates from northwestern Patagonia distinguished two hybrid lineages,one derived from E. amarillans x E. typhina and the other derived from E. typhina subsp. poae x E. festucae andidentified as E. tembladerae.The objective of this work was to study, at regional scale, the diversity and the potential toxicity to cattleof Epichloë sp. in H. comosum along a gradient of aridity.An exhaustive survey of H. comosum covering an area of 60 000 km² in Patagonia Argentina, that includedthe previously studied area, was performed in January 2015. Four transects from extreme arid to sub-humidconditions (from 150 to 1200 mm annual precipitation) and collection sites on each transect were establishedaccording to their mean annual precipitation (Wordclim). Each site was classified according to its aridity index (AI=Annual precipitation/Potential evapotranspiration) and classified as: arid, AI