Beneficial endophyte-enhanced grass cultivars for sustainable insect pest deterrence

Overview

This solution leverages symbiotic, naturally occurring plant endophytes to provide protection from insect pests in grasses. By optimizing fungal genes that encourage targeted mycotoxin (secondary fungal metabolite) production, the technology selects for mycotoxins that cause insect morbidity or mortality without affecting mammals. The result is a suite of novel endophyte-enhanced grass cultivars tailored for various ecosystems and intended uses, including livestock and wildlife pasture, land conservation, city, state, and national parks, and seed production.

The approach addresses the need for sustainable alternatives to chemical insecticides in grass cultivation. By integrating best practices for seed cultivation, harvesting, and storage, the technology preserves endophyte viability while delivering consistent pest protection across diverse environments.

Technical specifications

Core approach:

• Optimization of fungal endophyte strains for production of beneficial mycotoxins in individual grass species
• Selection of mycotoxins that are toxic to insects but safe for mammals
• Matching of mycotoxin profiles with insect bioassay data to identify effective plant-endophyte-mycotoxin associations
• Integration of seed industry best practices for endophyte preservation during cultivation, harvesting, and storage

Key findings from preliminary validation:

• Laboratory no-choice tests screened 31 commercial grass cultivars for resistance against sod webworm
• 17 cultivars showed 22–44% larval mortality; 14 more promising cultivars achieved 56–78% larval mortality
• Cultivars containing high levels of the ergoline alkaloid chanoclavine and peramine demonstrated 56% insect mortality, compared to 33% in cultivars with no detectable levels
• Prior work demonstrated correlation of endophyte-produced mycotoxins with protection from potato psyllid in potatoes and insect predation in four grass seed species

Planned validation:

• Selection of 1–3 grass species (e.g., tall or fine fescue) for focused study
• Insect bioassays measuring mortality alongside quantification of specific ergot alkaloids
• Determination of whether a single compound or suite of compounds drives insect deterrence
• Evaluation of mode of action to match ecosystem conditions and pressures with specific plant species

Technology readiness level

The technology is currently at an early-to-mid stage of development. Preliminary laboratory trials have demonstrated proof of concept, with measurable insect mortality rates correlated to specific mycotoxin profiles in commercial grass cultivars. Previous work has also established the protective effect of endophyte-produced mycotoxins against insect predation in potatoes and multiple grass seed species.

The next phase involves optimizing endophyte strains for specific grass species, validating mycotoxin-insect mortality relationships, and determining the mode of action. Further development will be needed to produce commercially viable cultivars with consistent endophyte performance across diverse ecosystems and intended uses.