Endophytic fungus decreases plant virus infections in meadow ryegrass (Lolium pratense) |
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Authors: | Lehtonen Päivi T Helander Marjo Siddiqui Shahid A Lehto Kirsi Saikkonen Kari |
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Affiliation: | Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland. patule@utu.fi |
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Abstract: | 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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