Detection methods and phylogenetic investigation of the morning glory associated fungal symbiont, Periglandula

Morning glories have been historically recognized to contain ergot alkaloids. These chemicals are synthesized products of the recently discovered clavicipitaceous fungi, Periglandula. Morning glory symbionts of the genus Periglandula are related to the well-known clavicipitaceous symbionts associated with grasses. Despite the relatedness of grass and morning glory fungal symbionts of the family Clavicipitaceae, host morning glories belonging to the Convolvulaceae are unrelated to Cyperaceae and Poaceae hosts. Alternative methods were required for the detection of Periglandula to address the unique attributes of convolvulaceous hosts. Therefore, a goal of this research was to develop a series of detection methods, including staining and PCR based approaches, which were unique to investigating Periglandula of host morning glories. Using these methods, an additional objective of this research included the investigation of evolutionary relationships between Periglandula of different morning glory species to determine whether diversity exists. Further examination of the diversity was also used to elucidate potential coevolution between Periglandula and host morning glory taxa.