best known, ergot(Claviceps purpurea), grows in ryeand generates lysergic acid
amide, the precursor of lysergic acid diethylamine (LSD). LSD is hallucinogenic
and fatal in relatively small doses and throughout history, communities have
been devastated by outbreaks undetected in the rye harvest. Other endophytes
includeSphacelia typhina, an ascomycete which grows in the prairie grass Festuca
arundinaceaand causes cattle disease and death. Detection and elimination of
endophytes in agriculture and food processing is an important area.
There is no absolute distinction between fungal endophytes and parasites and
some fungi may remain as endophytes for many years before starting to
damage a plant significantly. Many only reproduce sexually once the plant or
the infected part is killed.216 Section M – Interactions between plants and other organisms