Review on the grass endophyte research in China 9Seed transmission characteristics and distribution in host plants of Epichloё yangzii

Epichloё yangzii is the stromata producing sexual endophyte within Roegneria spp. The stromatadeveloping Roegneria plants grown in Nanjing were collected in 2004 to 2008 to study the distribution of E. yangzii and its ability of seed transmission. The results indicated that the typical fungal hyphae of this endophyte were detected from all tillers in stromatadeveloping Roegneria plants and this meant a systemic infection within aerial parts of the host. Similar fungal hyphae were detected from young seedlings developed from the endophyte infected seeds and meant that this endophyte was seed transmittable. On the plants developed from the infected seeds, the stromata developed on the culms, but not in every year. The hypha of this endophyte was not found from the root systems. The hyphae were different in the morphology depending on the organ of the plants.