Transcriptome Analysis of Choke Stroma and Asymptomatic Inflorescence Tissues Reveals Changes in Gene Expression in Both Epichloe festucae and Its Host Plant Festuca rubra subsp. rubra.

ABSTRACT: Many cool-season grasses have symbiotic relationships with Epichloë (Ascomycota, Clavicipitaceae) fungal endophytes that inhabit the intercellular spaces of the above-ground parts of the host plants. The presence of the Epichloë endophytes is generally beneficial to the hosts due to enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses conferred by the endophytes. Many Epichloë spp. are asexual, and those infections always remain asymptomatic. However, some Epichloë spp. have a sexual stage and produce a macroscopic fruiting body, a stroma, that envelops the developing inflorescence causing a syndrome termed "choke disease". Here, we report a fungal and plant gene expression analysis of choke stroma tissue and asymptomatic inflorescence tissue of Epichloë

SUBMITTER: Wang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6921078 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature