As an international leader in plant science and agricultural programs, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation recently sent a delegation, led by Joe Bouton, Ph.D., to the International Symposium on Fungal Endophytes of Grasses in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Bouton, a Senior Vice President and Director of the Noble Foundation's Forage Improvement Division, delivered one of the keynote addresses at the symposium, which represents one of many international trips Noble Foundation scientists will make during 2007.

"The Noble Foundation is involved in expanding plant science at every level from local and regional to nationally and internationally," said Bouton, who has attended this particular symposium since 1991. "Fungal endophyte research is a quickly expanding field because of what they can do for plants. Fungal endophytes live inside the plants, such as tall fescue, and have a mutually beneficial relationship with their hosts, often improving the plant's persistence and performance."

Tall fescue, a cool-season perennial grass, is a staple of farmers and ranchers in the United States and covers more than 40 million acres in the U.S. alone, and it is naturally infected with fungal endophtyes, some of which are not beneficial to livestock, Bouton explained.

In his keynote address, Bouton detailed how fungal endophyte research has increased persistence in new varieties of tall fescue, while helping to eliminate the negative side effects on livestock. Bouton also announced at the symposium that the Noble Foundation will be releasing a new tall fescue variety containing a beneficial endophyte in 2009.

Additionally he outlined the future of this expanding research field and emphasized how the symposium has provided an important venue for scientists to share information and ideas.

"The Noble Foundation is leading groundbreaking research in the field of fungal endophytes," he said. "Our work has far reaching implications, not just for scientists, but farmers and ranchers - regionally, nationally and internationally – are also going to benefit from the research occurring right here in southern Oklahoma."

Other Noble Foundation scientists who attended include Carolyn Young, Ph.D., Andy Hopkins, Ph.D., and Kelly Craven, Ph.D. Each scientist is contributing to the Noble Foundation's research on fungal endophytes of grasses.

"These international trips allow scientists an opportunity to come together and share their research and experiences," Craven said. "Some of the greatest ideas in science come when scientists actually sit down together, discuss their research and collaborate on new approaches and new ideas. It's exciting to know that discussing fungal endophyte research in New Zealand can have a significant impact on farmers there and here in Oklahoma and all of the places in between."

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News Release Issued: April 30, 2007

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.