SERA8: Fescue Endophyte Research and Extension (IEG-37)
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
SERA8: Fescue Endophyte Research and Extension (IEG-37)
Duration: 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2014
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. = Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.] is a versatile cool-season grass extensively used for forage and turf (16). The first cultivar, Kentucky-31, released in the 1940s has been widely distributed across the USA. Tall fescue is well adapted to the 'transition zone' (known as the fescue belt ) that is considered colder than optimal for warm season grasses but hotter than optimal for other cool season grasses such as perennial ryegrass (16). The nutritive value, persistence, wide range of adaptation and ease of management made tall fescue popular forage that is now grown in the US on over 35 million acres.
Eventually it was determined that persistence of tall fescue was in part owing to the presence of a fungal endophyte, Neotyphodium coenophialum (3). The success of N. coenophialum within its host is due to a lifestyle strategy where the fungus systemically infects the aerial parts of the plant without causing disease, and is only transmitted in the seed. The endophyte provides many benefits to its host, but unfortunately produces alkaloids that cause toxicity to the grazing livestock resulting in annual production losses of over US$600 million as estimated in 1993 (10) to US$1 billion at present day cost (1). Most production losses have been accredited to reproductive problems of the grazing animals (6, 7, 20). It has since been well documented that ergot alkaloids are the causative agent of fescue toxicosis which presents with numerous detrimental effects such as fescue foot, reproductive disorders, and reduced milk production and weight gains (17). It is now known that many cool-season grasses harbor fungal endophytes from the closely related genus Epichloë and Neotyphodium, [reviewed by Clay and Schardl (5)]. Perennial ryegrass was found to contain the endophyte Neotyphodium lolii that is also capable of producing ergot alkaloids as well as lolitrem B, an indole-diterpene that causes ryegrass staggers (9).
Endophyte-free tall fescue cultivars were established in the mid-1980s to overcome the toxicity problems of their endophyte-infected counterparts, and while these provided the required animal production benefits, the pastures were not able to persist well (15, 19). The endophytes in the agriculturally important grasses, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass, provide their hosts with protection from biotic stresses, such as insect and pathogen resistance, as well as abiotic stresses, such as drought tolerance (11-13). Therefore, inclusion of endophytes in forage grasses, such as N. coenophialum in tall fescue and N. lolii in perennial ryegrass, is now considered important for grass breeding because of the beneficial properties they impart to the grass host.
It is well understood that toxic endophyte infected tall fescue has a negative impact for producers. Much research has been done to understand the association of endophytes and their grass hosts as well as the impact they have on grazing livestock, and a number of strategies now exist to manage fescue toxicosis (14). These strategies range from dealing directly with the endophyte, such as re-infecting grasses with naturally occurring isolates that are unable to cause mammalian toxicity and thus impart only the beneficial features of the association (4, 8), to pasture and animal management practices that limit exposure to the alkaloids (18). Research on fescue toxicosis is ongoing and because this problem is covered by diverse research areas, it is important to provide opportunities for interested groups to exchange ideas and provide updates as well as deliver these updates directly to farmers and ranchers via extension activities such as workshops, online literature and publications (Fig. 1). (See attached chart)
In 1984 the Southern Research Information Exchange Group (SRIEG-37, Fescue Toxicity) was formed to allow scientists to exchange research ideas and data relating to the fescue toxicosis problem. In 1990, this group co-hosted the first international endophyte symposium in Louisiana. The SRIEG-37 was later expanded to include extension, and now stands as the Southern Extension and Research Activity - Information Exchange Group (SERA-IEG8) for Fescue Endophyte Research and Extension. Participants of SERA-IEG8 are research scientists, extension specialists and industry representatives associated with fescue toxicosis problems, management, and research and development. This exchange group has culminated in the Agronomy Monograph #53 entitled Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century consisting of 29 chapters that also link to a publicly available webpage http://forages.oregonstate.edu/tallfescuemonograph/. This current version of the monograph updates the previous monograph from 30 years ago. Most of the chapters in the monograph were contributed from SERA-IEG8 8 research scientists, extension specialists and industry participants. This monograph is considered the latest state of the art research published in 2009 that encompasses 29 chapters dedicated to research areas of tall fescue.
Objectives
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Hold annual SERA-IEG8 meetings for presentation of State reports and to conduct the business meeting that are open to all group members and extension specialists
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Presentation of annual reports as bound booklets that are also available to SERA-IEG8 members by PDF or as a list of summaries with contact details on the SERA-IEG8 web page (http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/SERA-IEG8/)
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To exchange research information, techniques and ideas in an informal setting that encourages open discussion amongst the meeting attendees
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To exchange technology transfer information and develop management programs appropriate for utilization of endophyte-infected grasses under different applications for knowledge transfer by extension specialists to the farmers and ranchers
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To make the SERA-IEG8 web page more accessible to county agents, farmers and ranchers. We propose to update the webpage to include material for interested parties. The website will provide information about the annual meeting, annual report, contact information for current chairperson, secretary and details for group members, published literature, relevant websites, and information of the extension activities especially to link fact sheets, news articles and extension bulletins that are developed for managing endophyte in cool season grasses.
Procedures and Activities
The main purpose of SERA-IEG8 is to exchange knowledge and understanding of endophytes, their grass hosts and the related animal toxicity problems they cause by exchanging research and extension information across a broad scientific group (Fig. 1). Due to the complexity of the problem, the group spans an array of disciplines that include: chemists, mycologist, plant breeders, agricultural economists, agronomists, ecologists, entomologists, genetic engineers, animal and plant physiologists, animal and plant geneticists, veterinarians, toxicologists, nutritionists, extension specialists, and members of feed and seed industries. As stated above, many members of this diverse group participated in the development of the 2009 Agronomy monograph and webpage for Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. State representation currently includes university, federal, and foundation researchers and extension specialist from Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee; in previous years, it has also included Alabama, North Dakota, Texas, and Virginia. The annual meeting is attended by the above members as well as colleagues from industries within the US, and AgResearch, New Zealand, an International company with a strong agricultural and endophyte interest.
The function of SERA-IEG8 is to provide a way to enhance information exchange by bringing together this diverse group of researchers. SERA-IEG8 hosts an annual meeting to present state reports and updates of current hot off the press unpublished data. The reports are provided as a comprehensive annual report booklet for all participants and in some cases covers the hot off the press unpublished data. Information on SERA-IEG8, including summary of previous state reports, can be found on the webpage http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/SERA-IEG8/.
Since 1990, members of SERA-IEG8 have been involved in:
(1) International meetings: six meetings for the International Symposium on Fungal Endophytes of Grasses (ISFEG) held in USA (Louisiana, 1990; Georgia, 1997; Arkansas, 2004), New Zealand (1993 and 2007), and Germany (2000) dedicated to endophyte-host interactions and their impact on agriculture. The 7th international meeting has just been hosted by Dr Chris Schardl in Lexington, Kentucky during which the 2010 SERA-IEG8 business meeting was held.
(2) Extension and outreach: Fescue toxicosis and management educational programs are focused on livestock agriculture. Its specific goals are to improve beef calf and dairy heifer gains, milk production, and reproductive performance of all classes of livestock. These educational programs have been presented to producers in written communication via the Internet, traditional management guides, and popular press articles (Table 1). In addition to written material, the program is presented by university educators in county meetings and focused workshops.
Table 1 Examples of extension activities across 4 States involved in SERA-IEG8. These are representative of the 11 currently active States. (see attached chart)
(3) The Agronomy monograph #53 on Tall Fescue of the Twenty-First Century was updated with many contributors who are members of the SERA-IEG8 group. This monograph is considered the latest state of the art research published in 2009 that encompasses 29 chapters dedicated to research areas of tall fescue and toxicosis issues. All contributions to the monograph were written in a language comprehensible to most people to aid in understanding the endophyte-plant-herbivore system that pertains to fescue toxicosis.
(4) The first ever national training guide for livestock producers affected by this disorder is a 16-page full color guide that provides an explanation of the disorder and practical management recommendations. This 2010 publication is entitled Fescue Toxicosis and Management, by Craig Roberts and John Andrae, and was published by the Crop Science Society of America, Madison, WI. This guide is expected to be used in all states where fescue toxicosis is a problem, which includes most of states in the eastern US as well as Oregon. Fescue toxicosis workshops based on this publication are taught by University Extension colleagues in various states with input from the seed industry.
(5) Information and exchange: Each year during the annual meeting an evening is dedicated to informal open discussion to enable participants to establish research links with other members of the group. This open discussion format has resulted in many collaborations ranging from, finding sources of cattle with known backgrounds for genetic studies related to fescue toxicosis, to determining alkaloid pathway intermediates that could be identified in different grass backgrounds that may result in toxicosis.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- The main purpose of SERA-IEG8 is to exchange current and new information relevant to research and extension activities pertaining to better utilization of tall fescue and other endophyte-infected cool-season grasses used in animal production systems. The SERA-IEG8 meeting is attended by an extremely diverse group of researchers that are brought together by the common thread of their research interest in fescue toxicosis. Each year state wide reports have been generated and more recently the production of these reports has been enhanced to allow for easier distribution to all interested members as a spiral bound booklet available at the annual meeting or by compiled PDF that can be easily emailed to participants.
- We anticipate that all of the above activities can provide the ranchers and farmers with information needed to manage the problems they may encounter with regards to fescue toxicosis. The knowledge collected will continue to be assimilated and passed-on to producers via extension and outreach activities. As more information is disseminated and recommendations implemented, we should see an improvement in the fescue toxicosis problem.
- The members of SERA-IEG8 collectively are approaching a solution to the problem of fescue toxicosis. There are currently four focus points that our members believe will solve the problem of fescue toxicosis.
- Members of our group are working towards management of existing pastures that will minimize the effect of the ergot alkaloid toxin. These members, in general, belong to the extension and applied scientists.
- Development of new tall fescue varieties that provide the beneficial attributes (e.g. persistence, insect protection and drought tolerance) but are considered friendly to grazing livestock. This group consists mostly of agronomists, grass breeders and mycologists.
- Understanding the physiological changes in livestock induced by ergot alkaloid consumption. This group consists of physiologists, animal scientists and toxicologists.
- Development of probiotics that can degrade the ergot alkaloids in the gut (rumen) such that no toxic molecule can enter the systemic system of the host. This group consists of toxicologists, microbiologists and analytical chemists.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
The meeting format is conducted as a state wide institution-by-institution presentation based on the submitted annual reports. Open discussions during the presentations are encouraged to help develop ideas and possible collaborations for future research in fescue toxicosis. Researchers are encouraged to review the problem to identify areas that need additional or new research approaches. The meeting is constructed to maximize the exchange of ideas and information, as well as allowing interaction from different disciplines. The annual reports are provided to participants as a printed bound document or PDF, and a summary of these reports are publicly available at http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/SERA-IEG8/. These reports often contain preliminary data that are frequently accompanied by publishable analyses and narratives.
Target Audiences: The primary target audience for this group is the group participants composed of scientists, extension agents, and seed company personnel each present to fulfill the primary mission of the group, the exchange of information. This meeting offers the opportunity for collaborators to meet, organize and represent their respective institutions. Extension specialists and county agents are encouraged to attend the SERA-IEG8 meeting through meeting announcements via email and the SERA-IEG8 web page. In addition, graduate students are encouraged to present papers and network with mentor scientists.
Organization/Governance
The SERA-IEG8 group elects an incoming secretary via committee selection and subsequent vote, who in the subsequent year will become the chairperson and meeting organizer. Meetings are held annually and include a business meeting for all attendees. The secretary will arrange collection and collation of the state reports to be presented at the annual meeting. Summary of reports are provided to the manager of the website as an available public record that includes contact information for each report. Full reports are no longer maintained on the web page as these are non-refereed reports that potentially include finalized narratives that will be submitted to refereed journals. As such, these reports are not to be cited but provide author contact information. The business meeting minutes are included in the proceeding years report.
Literature Cited
1. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. Agronomy Monograph 53. 2009. H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West, Editors. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin.
2. Allen, V. G., and E. Segarra. 2001. Anti-quality components in forage: Overview, significance, and economic impact. J. Range Manage. 54:409-412.
3. Bacon, C. W., J. K. Porter, J. D. Robbins, and E. S. Luttrell. 1977. Epichloë typhina from toxic tall fescue grasses. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 34:576-581.
4. Bouton, J. H., G. C. M. Latch, N. S. Hill, C. S. Hoveland, M. A. McCann, R. H. Watson, J. A. Parish, L. L. Hawkins, and F. N. Thompson. 2002. Reinfection of tall fescue cultivars with non-ergot alkaloid-producing endophytes. Agron. J. 94:567-574.
5. Clay, K., and C. Schardl. 2002. Evolutionary origins and ecological consequences of endophyte symbiosis with grasses. Am. Nat. 160:S99-S127.
6. Craig, A. M. 2009. Toxic Effects of the Endophyte in Seed Straw. 53:10. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. Agronomy Monograph 53. H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West, Editors. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin.
7. Cross, D. L. 2009. Toxic Effects of the Endophyte in Horses. 53:16. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. Agronomy Monograph 53. H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West, Editors. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin.
8. Fletcher, L. R. 1999. "Non-toxic" endophytes in ryegrass and their effect on livestock health and production, p. 133-139. In D. R. Woodfield and C. Matthew (eds.), Ryegrass endophyte: an essential New Zealand symbiosis. New Zealand Grassland Association, Napier, New Zealand.
9. Fletcher, L. R., and I. C. Harvey. 1981. An association of a Lolium endophyte with ryegrass staggers. N. Z. Vet. J. 29:185-186.
10. Hoveland, C. S. 1993. Importance and economic significance of the Acremonium endophytes to performance of animals and grass plant., p. 3-12. In R. Joost and S. Quisenberry (eds.), Acremonium/Grass interactions. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
11. Johnson, M. C., D. L. Dahlman, M. R. Siegel, L. P. Bush, G. C. M. Latch, D. A. Potter, and D. R. Varney. 1985. Insect feeding deterrents in endophyte-infected Tall Fescue. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 49:568-571.
12. Malinowski, D. P., and D. P. Belesky. 2000. Adaptations of endophyte-infected cool-season grasses to environmental stresses: mechanisms of drought and mineral stress tolerance. Crop Sci. 40:923-940.
13. Popay, A. J., and S. A. Bonos. 2005. Biotic responses in endophytic grasses., p. 163. In C. A. Roberts, C. P. West, and D. E. Spiers (eds.), Neotyphodium in cool-season grasses. Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA.
14. Roberts, C., and J. Andrae. 2004. Tall fescue toxicosis and management. Crop Management. 1-17. doi: 10:1094/CM-2004-0427-01-MG.
15. Siegel, M. R., G. C. M. Latch, and M. C. Johnson. 1985. Acremonium fungal endophytes of tall fescue and perennial ryegrass: Significance and control. Plant Dis. 69:179-181.
16. Sleper, D. A., and C. P. West. 1996. Tall Fescue, p. 475. In L. E. Moser, D. R. Buxton, and M. D. Casler (eds.), Cool-season forage grasses. Agron. Monograph no. 34. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, WI.
17. Strickland, J. R., G. E. Aiken, D. E. Spiers, L. R. Fletcher, and J. W. Oliver. 2009. Physiological Basis of Fescue Toxicosis. 53:26. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. Agronomy Monograph 53. H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West, Editors. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin.
18. Stuedemann, J., and D. Seman. 2005. Integrating genetics, environment, and management to minimize animal toxicoses, p. 305-326. In Anonymous Neotyphodium in cool-season grasses. Blackwell Publishing, Iowa.
19. Thompson, R. W., H. A. Fribourg, J. C. Waller, W. L. Sanders, J. H. Reynolds, J. M. Phillips, S. P. Schmidt, R. J. Crawford, V. G. Allen, and D. B. Faulkner. 1993. Combined analysis of tall fescue steer grazing studies in the Eastern United States. J. Anim. Sci. 71:1940-1946.
20. Waller, J. C. 2009. Endophyte effects on cattle. 53:22. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-First Century. Agronomy Monograph 53. H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West, Editors. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin.