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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control

Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control

Published on: April 11, 2013

Herbivory mediates grass-endophyte relationships.

Saewan Koh¹, David S Hik

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada. s.koh@ualberta.ca

|December 7, 2007

Summary

Neotyphodium fungal endophytes enhance grass defenses against herbivores in grazed alpine tundra. However, this defense mutualism varies, with endophyte benefits more apparent under higher herbivory pressure.

Area of Science:

Ecology
Mycology
Plant-Microbe Interactions

Background:

Endophytic fungi, specifically Neotyphodium spp., are symbiotic organisms residing within grasses.
These fungi are often mutualistic, enhancing host resistance to stress and deterring herbivores with alkaloids.
The prevalence and mechanisms of this defense mutualism across diverse environments remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the variability of grass-Neotyphodium interactions in a subarctic alpine ecosystem.
To determine if Neotyphodium infection influences native vertebrate herbivory in natural settings.
To test the predictions of optimal defense theory in relation to herbivory gradients.

Main Methods:

Studied grass-Neotyphodium interactions along an herbivory gradient in an alpine tundra ecosystem.

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Establishing Fungal Entomopathogens as Endophytes: Towards Endophytic Biological Control

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Published on: July 24, 2018

Compared Neotyphodium infection frequency and hyphal density in grazed versus ungrazed sites.

Assessed the deterrence effect of endophyte-infected grass on native vertebrate herbivores in both grazed and ungrazed areas.

Main Results:

Grass populations in grazed sites exhibited significantly higher Neotyphodium infection frequencies and hyphal densities than in ungrazed sites.
Endophyte infection deterred native vertebrate herbivory in grazed meadows.
Vertebrate herbivores did not differentiate between infected and uninfected grass in ungrazed areas.

Conclusions:

Grass-Neotyphodium relationships in alpine tundra are highly variable and influenced by herbivory levels.
Defense mutualism plays a role, consistent with optimal defense theory predictions.
The benefits of endophyte infection are context-dependent, particularly regarding herbivore deterrence.