“I have been working with researchers and Extension agents from the University of Florida, as well as local veterinarians, for over seven years evaluating the mycotoxin profile in forage grasses found throughout Florida and associated risks to animal health. Our relationship began with an email from Dr. Ann Blount (North Florida Research and Education Center, Quincy FL) requesting testing and consultation through the Endophyte Service Laboratory for samples from feed consumed by rhinoceroses at a conservation center that were suffering from a staggering syndrome with no known cause. Those samples were completed but the contagious curiosity and forage breeding background of Dr. Blount had her asking what types of mycotoxins may exist in any of Florida’s forages that could impact animal health. Through discussions, some funding was procured from the Florida Cattlemen’s Association which allowed us to begin an ongoing survey of Florida forages for their mycotoxin profile. No such survey has ever been conducted for these sub-tropical grasses; the information gathered is being used to inform decisions about pasture management and livestock care in Florida and to provide a baseline of what mycotoxins may be present, and in what concentrations, throughout the year and across various geographic locations. Some of this work has been published and we continue to add to our database of mycotoxin expression in Florida forages, enhancing the work with plant mycobiome information lead by Dr. Hui-Ling (Sunny) Liao (North Florida Research and Education Center, Quincy FL).”
--Dr. Jennifer Duringer
Ann Blount weblink: https://agronomy.ifas.ufl.edu/people/ann-blount/, named 2018 Agriculture Woman of the Year by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Hui-Ling (Sunny) Liao weblink: https://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/people/faculty/hui-ling-liao/
Figure legend: Sampling locations and examples of symptomatic grasses in Florida pastures. (A) Map of collection sites across Florida, USA. Each pie chart corresponds to the sampling of a given site. The color indicates plant species and the pattern indicates symptom pathology. The size of the pie chart corresponds to the number of samples at each site. Star indicates plant species considered as weeds. (B) Paspalum notatum leaves with black fungal structures produced by Myriogenospora atramentosa. (C) Cross section of P. notatum leaf bearing the superficial fungal structure of M. atramentosa. Blue arrow identifies the black M. atramentosa perithecium. The surrounding green part is P. notatum’s leaf tissue. (D) Sporobolus indicus leaf blades with fungal structures produced by Balansia epichloe. (E) M. atramentosa on the seed head of P. notatum (red arrow). (F-G) M. atramentosa on the seed heads of P. notatum.
Figure legend: Schematic diagram of warm-season grasses, mycobiomes, and future perspectives.
Photos from Dr. Liao's group in Florida collecting samples/in the field
