Recent advances and issues on locoweedfungal endophyte

Locoweed is the most seriously poisonous plant which threats the sustainable development of pasture husbandry throughout the world. As has been confirmed, the main constituent of the locoweed which causes livestock poisoning is the indolizidine alkaloidswainsonine. Swainsonine has significant pharmacological activity of antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, and improves immune system in addition to its toxicity. Most of the attentions of the research on SW concentrates on the producing mechanisms, toxicology and pharmacological activities of the SW. Rresearchers domestic and foreign has started to focus on the locoweed endophyte biodiversity, the relationship between the locoweed endophytic fungi and its production of swainsonine, as well as the mechanism of stress resistance since the end of 20th century to revealing the production mechanism of the toxic substances, the relationship between the endophytic fungi and the stress resistance, especially the interaction between the toxic substances and the endophytic fungi. Swainsonineproducing endophytic fungus has been isolated from a variety of locoweeds. And it has been found that there existed a close relationship between locoweed endophytic fungi and locoweed. This paper reviewed the main content and the present situation of the researches about locoweed endophytic fungi and made discussion about a number of issues in the field.