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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Poisonous Plant Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #283614
Title: Influence of endophyte genotype on swainsonine concentrations in Oxytropis sericea

Author
item Cook, Daniel
item Grum, Daniel
item Gardner, Dale
item Welch, Kevin
item Pfister, James

Submitted to: Toxicon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2012
Publication Date: 1/1/2013
Citation: Cook, D., Grum, D.S., Gardner, D.R., Welch, K.D., Pfister, J.A. 2013. Influence of endophyte genotype on swainsonine concentrations in Oxytropis sericea. Toxicon. 61:105-11.

Interpretive Summary: Locoism is a toxic syndrome of livestock caused by the ingestion of a subset of legumes belonging to the Astragalus and Oxytropis genera known as “locoweeds”. Locoweeds contain the toxic alkaloid swainsonine, which is produced by an endophyte. Previously we reported that swainsonine concentrations differ between populations of O. sericea. We hypothesized that the genotype of the plant, endophyte, or an interaction of the two may be responsible for the differences in swainsonine concentration between populations of O. sericea. To test this hypothesis, plants derived from seeds collected at each location were grown in a common garden, endophyte isolates from each location were cultured and grown in a common environment, and a plant genotype by endophyte cross inoculation was performed. Here we show that the genotype of the endophyte is responsible for the differences in swainsonine concentrations observed in the two populations of O. sericea.

Technical Abstract: Locoism is a toxic syndrome of livestock caused by the ingestion of a subset of legumes belonging to the Astragalus and Oxytropis genera known as “locoweeds”. Locoweeds contain the toxic indolizidine alkaloid swainsonine, which is produced by the endophytic fungi Undifilum species. Previously we reported that swainsonine concentrations differ between populations of O. sericea. We hypothesized that the genotype of the plant, endophyte, or an interaction of the two may be responsible for the differences in swainsonine concentration between populations of O. sericea. To test this hypothesis, plants derived from seeds collected at each location were grown in a common garden, U. oxytropis isolates from each location were cultured and grown in a common environment, and a plant genotype by endophyte cross inoculation was performed. Here we show that the genotype of the endophyte is responsible for the differences in swainsonine concentrations observed in the two populations of O. sericea.