Endophytic fungus decreases plant virus infections in meadow ryegrass (Lolium pratense)



: Lehtonen PT, Helander M, Siddiqui SA, Lehto K, Saikkonen K

Publisher: ROYAL SOCIETY

: 2006

Biology Letters

BIOLOGY LETTERS

: BIOL LETT-UK

: 2

: 4

: 620

: 623

: 4

: 1744-9561

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2006.0499


We studied the effects of fungal endophyte infection of meadow ryegrass (Lolium pratense = Festuca pratensis) on the frequency of the barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). The virus is transferred by aphids, which may be deterred by endophyte-origin alkaloids within the plant. In our experiment, we released viruliferous aphid vectors on endophyte-infected and endophyte-free plants in a common garden. The number of aphids and the percentage of BYDV infections were lower in endophyte-infected plants compared to endophyte-free plants, indicating that endophyte infection may protect meadow ryegrass from BYDV infections.



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