Rhizoctonia leguminicola
Encyclopedia
Rhizoctonia leguminicola is a fungus
that is a plant pathogen that most often attaches itself to the Trifolium pratense or red clover. It is also called Black Patch Disease. The infection is first seen as small black patches on the leaves of red clover (often on the bottom of the leaves first) and spreads to cover the entire plant, killing it. The hyphae of this fungus are white and web-like in appearance, just like those of other fungi. The consumption of the fungus can be harmful to any grazing animals, especially to horses and cows.
, frequent urination, watery diarrhea, reduced milk production, weight loss and abortion." Granted, the consumption must be exorbitant to cause these symptoms of such large animals, but if the pasture consists mainly of clover, and the hay also contains clover, the danger of more serious symptoms rises. This is known as slobbers, also slobbers syndrome, and is attributed in part to the alkaloid
toxin
s slaframine
and swainsonine
.
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
that is a plant pathogen that most often attaches itself to the Trifolium pratense or red clover. It is also called Black Patch Disease. The infection is first seen as small black patches on the leaves of red clover (often on the bottom of the leaves first) and spreads to cover the entire plant, killing it. The hyphae of this fungus are white and web-like in appearance, just like those of other fungi. The consumption of the fungus can be harmful to any grazing animals, especially to horses and cows.
Effects of consumption
If Rhizoctonia leguminicola is consumed excessively by horses or cattle, the most noticeable symptom will be an increase in salivation (drool). Other symptoms include "eye discharge, bloatBloat
Bloat is a medical condition in which the stomach becomes overstretched by excessive gas content. It is also commonly referred to as torsion, gastric torsion, and gastric dilatation-volvulus when the stomach is also twisted. The word bloat is often used as a general term to cover gas distension...
, frequent urination, watery diarrhea, reduced milk production, weight loss and abortion." Granted, the consumption must be exorbitant to cause these symptoms of such large animals, but if the pasture consists mainly of clover, and the hay also contains clover, the danger of more serious symptoms rises. This is known as slobbers, also slobbers syndrome, and is attributed in part to the alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
s slaframine
Slaframine
Slaframine is a kind of piperidine or indolizidine alkaloidal mycotoxin that generally causes salivation in most of the animals. It is usually produced by the fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola. It is a common fungal pathogen of red clover that causes black patch disease in the plant . Slaframine has...
and swainsonine
Swainsonine
Swainsonine is an indolizine alkaloid. It is a potent inhibitor of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II, an immunomodulator, and a potential chemotherapy drug...
.