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Epichloë grass endophytes in sustainable agriculture

Nature Plants volume 2, Article number: 15224 (2016) Cite this article

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Abstract

There is an urgent need to create new solutions for sustainable agricultural practices that circumvent the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides and increase the resilience of agricultural systems to environmental change. Beneficial microbial symbionts of plants are expected to play an important role in integrated pest management schemes over the coming decades. Epichloë endophytes, symbiotic fungi of many grass species, can protect plants against several stressors, and could therefore help to increase the productivity of forage grasses and the hardiness of turf grasses while reducing the use of synthetic pesticides. Indeed, Epichloë endophytes have successfully been developed and commercialized for agricultural use in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Many of the host grass species originate from Europe, which is a biodiversity hotspot for both grasses and endophytes. However, intentional use of endophyte-enhanced grasses in Europe is virtually non-existent. We suggest that the diversity of European Epichloë endophytes and their host grasses should be exploited for the development of sustainable agricultural, horticultural and landscaping practices, and potentially for bioremediation and bioenergy purposes, and for environmental improvement.

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Figure 1: Vertical transmission of Epichloë endophytes in grasses and manipulation of endophyte infection.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Watts (University of Oulu, Finland) for critically reading the article. This study was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Nordic Centre of Excellence Tundra and the Academy of Finland (project nos 127140, 137909 and 281354).

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  1. Department of Ecology, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland

    Miia Kauppinen & Piippa R. Wäli

  2. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 3, Turku, 20520, Finland

    Kari Saikkonen & Marjo Helander

  3. Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland

    Marjo Helander

  4. Department of Genetics and Physiology, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland

    Anna Maria Pirttilä

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Kauppinen, M., Saikkonen, K., Helander, M. et al. Epichloë grass endophytes in sustainable agriculture. Nature Plants 2, 15224 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.224

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