Bird Strike Committee Proceedings
Date of this Version
9-2011
Document Type
Article
Citation
Presented at 2011 Bird Strike North America Conference, September 12-15, 2011, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
1. What are fungal endophytes?
Endophyte infected plants are symptomless
Fungal endophyte + Grass Plant
The green dots are the endophyte filaments
Endophyte life cycle
Diversity in endophytes
•Neotyphodium fungal endophytes are NOT all the same, there is considerable diversity in their biochemical profiles.
•Our selections have been made from wild-types world wide
•AgResearch has the largest collection of grass endophytes in the world
•New Zealand is the recognized world leader in grass endophyte technology and its commercialisation
Basic science
•Understanding the life cycle of Neotyphodium endophytes (1980)
•Isolation from grasses and growth ex plant (1990)
•Inoculations challenges – into the plant (1995)
•Understanding the chemistry – discovering unknown alkaloids (1996-on going) •Transmission challenges – into the seed (1996 to date)
•Understanding genes controlling alkaloid expression
•Endophyte viability in seed
The Development of AVANEX Unique Endophyte Technology
•Examine global collections of endophytes
•Inoculated turf type cultivars
•Improve alkaloid expression from the ordinary wild type
•Further crossing and stability testing (in plant and seed)
•Compare alkaloid expression with original wildtype
•Bulk up seed (3 years)
•Test in field (birds-insects-airports)
•Patented in USA/NZ/AU
Crossing these to get seed of AVANEXTM
•Selection of 2 pair crosses for increasing loline
Increase ergovaline
•Grow out seeds to Chemo type and confirm endophyte presence
•Test for alkaloids
Comments
Copyright 2011 Pennell