Endophytic fungi of grasses protect other plants from aphid herbivory

GARCIA PARISI, PA; GRIMOLDI, A; OMACINI M

FUNGAL ECOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 9 p. 61 - 64

1754-5048

Microbial plant symbionts are widely spread in nature changing the way their hostsinteract with their environment. Neotyphodium fungal endophytes (Clavicipitaceae) aregrass symbionts known by their production of alkaloids, toxic for herbivores. Here, wehypothesized that endophytes confer associational protection to non-host plants andchange emission of host volatile-compounds. In an outdoor mesocosm experiment, weexamined aphid infestation on Trifolium repens plants, in response to Neotyphodium occultanspresence in neighbouring Lolium multiflorum. Contrasting levels of Rhizobium were generatedin T. repens plants considering that symbiosis with N2-fixers would influence herbivoreabundance. Aphid infestation increased responding to symbiotic status of T. repensplants, when surrounded by non-symbiotic L. multiflorum plants. Endophytes modified thevolatile imprints of L. multiflorum plants measured by an electronic nose, suggesting apotential mechanism to benefit neighbours. This associational protection constitutes anew mutualism trait of grass-endophyte symbiosis, becoming a non-primave benefit available to other community partners.