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Grass Endophyte-Mediated Plant Stress Tolerance: Alkaloids and Their Functions

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Symbioses and Stress

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 17))

Abstract

The Family Clavicipitaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) includes saprotrophic and symbiotic species associated with insects and fungi (Cordyceps spp.) or grasses, rushes and sedges (Balansia spp., Epichloë spp., Claviceps spp.) (Bacon and White, 2000). Symbiotic interactions are a notable feature of the Clavicipitaceae and they range in a continuum from antagonism to mutualism (Schardl et al., 2004). The plant biotrophic forms within this family can be characterized based on the nature of the association with hosts, being epibiotic during part or the entire life cycle or strictly endophytic with hyphae growing intercellular in the aboveground plant parts such as leaves, stems, and culms of the host.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Mónica S. Torres & James F. White Jr

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  1. Mónica S. Torres
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  2. James F. White Jr
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Correspondence to Mónica S. Torres .

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  1. University of Jerusalem, Mevo Hadas 20, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. , Institute of Plant Sciences, Karl-Franzens-University, Holteigasse 6, Graz, 8010, Austria

    Martin Grube

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Torres, M.S., White, J.F. (2010). Grass Endophyte-Mediated Plant Stress Tolerance: Alkaloids and Their Functions. In: Seckbach, J., Grube, M. (eds) Symbioses and Stress. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9449-0_24

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