The infection of Festuca rubra subsp pruinosa by Epichloe festucae

Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa is a grass that inhabits the sea cliffs of the Atlantic coasts of Europe. Four populations of this plant in the northern coast of Galicia, in northern Spain, were analysed for the presence of fungal endophytes. Of the plants included in the study, on average 0(.)69 were infected by an intercellular fungal endophyte. Using morphological and molecular characters, this endophyte was identified as Epichloe festucae, a clavicipitaceous, seed-transmitted species. A half-sibling line, consisting of endophyte-free and endophyte-infected plants, was developed and used to test whether the presence of the fungus affected the response of the plants to salinity. Dry weights of infected or uninfected plants, watered with sea-water solutions or tap water, did not significantly differ.