RUI: Mediation of Induced Resistance to Insects by a Fungal Endophyte

RUI：内生真菌诱导昆虫抗性的介导

• 批准号: 9527600
• 负责人: Thomas Bultman
• 金额: $ 16.22万
• 依托单位: Truman State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-03-15 至 2000-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9527600&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Mediation; Induced; Resistance; Insects

9527749 Bultman The presence of an endophytic fungus is often associated with enhanced survival and reproduction of the host grass. Because insect herbivores often cause less damage to grasses infected by the fungi compared to grasses lacking the fungal associates, the grass-fungus association has been described as a defensive mutualism. A hypothesized mechanism for this defense may be fungal-produced alkaloids that can be toxic to insects. The proposed study specifically tests if the advantage of endophyte infection to grasses is due to enhanced resistance to insects following plant damage. Laboratory experiments manipulating nutrient levels, plant damage, and fungal infection will be conducted using Chewings, hard, and tall fescues and perennial ryegrass. Plant tissue will be fed to fall and true armyworm larvae and their growth and survival monitored to assess the presence and magnitude of base level and wound-induced resistance in fungal-infected and fungal-free plants. The level of plant protein nitrogen and alkaloids will also be monitored to help interpret differences in insect performance among experimental treatments. Biomass gain and consumption of the two insect herbivores will be assessed to further evaluate mechanisms responsible for treatment effects on insect performance. The economic significance of fungal endophytes of grasses is well documented. The fungi, and the toxins they produce, have detrimental effects on livestock that translate to annual revenue losses of over $600 million in the US. The proposed research, by providing information on the basic ecology of grass endophytes, should assist efforts to manage them in agricultural settings.

9527749布尔特曼：内生真菌的存在往往与提高寄主草的生存和繁殖有关。由于与没有真菌伴生体的草相比，昆虫食草动物对受真菌感染的草造成的损害通常较小，因此草-真菌协会被描述为防御性互惠关系。一种假想的防御机制可能是真菌产生的生物碱对昆虫有毒。这项拟议的研究专门测试了内生真菌感染牧草的优势是否源于植物受到破坏后对昆虫的抵抗力增强。将使用咀嚼、硬和高羊茅和多年生黑麦草进行实验室实验，以控制营养水平、植物损害和真菌感染。将植物组织喂给秋季和真正的粘虫幼虫，并监测它们的生长和存活，以评估感染真菌和无真菌植物中基准值和伤口诱导抗性的存在和程度。还将监测植物蛋白质、氮和生物碱的水平，以帮助解释不同实验处理之间昆虫性能的差异。将对这两种昆虫草食动物的生物量增长和消耗进行评估，以进一步评估对昆虫性能产生处理效果的机制。禾本科真菌内生菌的经济意义是有据可查的。真菌及其产生的毒素对牲畜产生有害影响，在美国每年造成超过6亿美元的收入损失。拟议的研究通过提供有关草内生植物基本生态学的信息，应有助于在农业环境中对其进行管理。