Evol Ecol Res 12: 769-777 (2010)     Full PDF if your library subscribes.

Fungal endophytes protect grass seedlings against herbivory and allow economical seed production

Marcin Czarnoleski¹, Paweł Olejniczak², Paulina Mikołajczak³, Marlena Lembicz³ and Jan Kozłowski¹

¹Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, ²Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków and  ³Department of Plant Taxonomy, A. Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland

Correspondence: M. Lembicz, Department of Plant Taxonomy, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
e-mail: lembicz@amu.edu.pl

ABSTRACT

Background: When infected with seed-transmitted fungal endophytes, some grasses produce a larger quantity of seeds, although these seeds are smaller than normal. The principles of life-history theory suggest that this size reduction could evolve if the infection reduces predation pressure.

Question: Does the endophyte protect grass seedlings against herbivory?

Hypothesis: Herbivores consume more seedlings that develop from endophyte-free grass seeds than from endophyte-infected grass seeds.

Organisms: Epichloë typhina is the seed-transmitted endophytic fungus, the weeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans) seedlings are the hosts, and the grove snail (Cepaea nemoralis) is the herbivore.

Methods: Our experiment consisted of two 66-h food-choice tests. The tests were performed consecutively and on the same individual snails. We offered snails freshly harvested weeping alkaligrass seedlings with and without the endophyte.

Results: Starved snails consumed approximately 20% less biomass of infected seedlings than uninfected seedlings. When the same snails were tested again shortly after their first contact with the endophyte, they exhibited an approximately 40% reduction in seedling consumption, and food discrimination became undetectable.

Conclusions: Toxins produced by endophytic fungi reduce the vulnerability of grass seedlings to snail herbivory

Keywords: fungal endophytes, herbivory, life history, resource allocation, seedlings, seed mass, seed quality, snails.

DOWNLOAD A FREE, FULL PDF COPY
IF you are connected using the IP of a subscribing institution (library, laboratory, etc.)
or through its VPN.

 

        © 2010 Marlena Lembicz. All EER articles are copyrighted by their authors. All authors endorse, permit and license Evolutionary Ecology Ltd. to grant its subscribing institutions/libraries the copying privileges specified below without additional consideration or payment to them or to Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. These endorsements, in writing, are on file in the office of Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. Consult authors for permission to use any portion of their work in derivative works, compilations or to distribute their work in any commercial manner.

       Subscribing institutions/libraries may grant individuals the privilege of making a single copy of an EER article for non-commercial educational or non-commercial research purposes. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also use articles for non-commercial educational purposes by making any number of copies for course packs or course reserve collections. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also loan single copies of articles to non-commercial libraries for educational purposes.

       All copies of abstracts and articles must preserve their copyright notice without modification.