Tall fescueis the most widely planted forage grass in the U.S., but its exceptional fitness is largely due to its symbiosis with the seed-transmitted endophytic fungus epichloe coenophiala

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded The University of Kentucky Research Foundation $900,000 on September 15, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to develop non-toxic endophytic fungal strains for tall fescue forage crops.

The project will generate CRISPR-edited mutants of Epichloe coenophiala that produce alternative alkaloids unlikely to be toxic to livestock, then reintroduce these strains into tall fescue plants to establish symbiotic relationships. The resulting seed lines will be tested against root-knot and root-lesion nematodes and against chewing and sucking insects to identify E. coenophiala variants most suitable for protecting tall fescue from pests. The work addresses the livestock industry's historical vulnerability to ergovaline toxicity in earlier endophyte-infected cultivars, losses that exceeded $600 million annually to beef and other livestock sectors.

Performance occurs in Lexington, Kentucky, with a period of performance from September 15, 2026, through September 14, 2029.

Documented benefits of this endophyte include enhanced drought tolerance and resistance to insects and nematodes. Unfortunately, the original common toxic endophyte strain in early tall fescue cultivars also produced the potent toxinergovaline, which caused yearly losses exceeding$600 millionto beef and other livestock industries. For this reason, other strains isolated from natural populations have been incorporated as non-toxic endophytes, but questions remain about their protective qualities. The new genetic engineeringtechnology crispr holds promise because of its precision and potential to produce non-transgenic variants with enhanced or optimized qualities. The investigators have used crispr to produce e. Coenophialastrains that are likely to be livestock friendly. In this project, a series of mutants will be generated that produce one or more of four different alkaloids, none of which are likely to be toxic to livestock. The mutants will be reintroduced into tall fescue to establish symbiotic plants and seeds, whichwill then be tested against nematodes that cause root knots and root lesions, and against chewing and sucking insects. Lines OFE. Coenophiala that are most suitable for protecting tall fescue from its pests canthen be incorporated into forage cultivars.