文摘
A well-established population of Claviceps purpurea var. spartinae R.A. Duncan & J.F. White was found on the invasive common cord-grass Spartina anglica C.E. Hubbard at two localities on the German North Sea coast. Additionally, 25 populations of S. anglica with an average air-line distance of 50?km between them along the coastline, starting from the Netherlands via the German coastline up to Denmark, were investigated. All S. anglica populations were heavily infected with C. purpurea var. spartinae (lineage G3). Genetic characterization of the C. purpurea DNA using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) analysis clearly indicated that all populations collected at the Wadden Sea were grouped in the same epidemic clade. Comparisons with reference strains indicated that the isolates along the Wadden Sea belonged to the clade also found in Ireland and Wales. The ergot alkaloid pattern is very similar in all genotypes. Ergocristine, α-ergocryptine and their epimers were identified in the samples in high amounts comparable to average values in sclerotia found on rye. The sclerotia of C. purpurea var. spartinae are able to float on the water for several months and could thereby be distributed over large distances by seawater. The sclerotia found in the drift lines still contain the equally high contents of ergot alkaloids as those collected directly from the plants. Current data form the basis for risk assessments and predictions about further spreading of C. purpurea var. spartinae on S. anglica.