title: Epichloë grass endophytes in sustainable agriculture.
abstract: There is an urgent need to create new solutions for sustainable agricultural practices that circumvent the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides and increase the resilience of agricultural systems to environmental change. Beneficial microbial symbionts of plants are expected to play an important role in integrated pest management schemes over the coming decades. Epichloë endophytes, symbiotic fungi of many grass species, can protect plants against several stressors, and could therefore help to increase the productivity of forage grasses and the hardiness of turf grasses while reducing the use of synthetic pesticides. Indeed, Epichloë endophytes have successfully been developed and commercialized for agricultural use in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Many of the host grass species originate from Europe, which is a biodiversity hotspot for both grasses and endophytes. However, intentional use of endophyte-enhanced grasses in Europe is virtually non-existent. We suggest that the diversity of European Epichloë endophytes and their host grasses should be exploited for the development of sustainable agricultural, horticultural and landscaping practices, and potentially for bioremediation and bioenergy purposes, and for environmental improvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Miia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kauppinen
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 3, 20520 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saikkonen
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 3, 20520 Turku, Finland.|Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Marjo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helander
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Physiology, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pirttilä
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Piippa R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Wäli
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D000069599:Crop Production / Q000379:methods*; D060026:Endophytes / Q000502:physiology; D055329:Epichloe / Q000502:physiology; D006109:Poaceae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology