Home Sweet Home! (Habitat)

WHERE DOES THIS ORGANISM LIVE?
This organism lives everywhere, with the exclusion of the polar regions. You already know that ergot is a parasitic fungi, so its habitat is dependent on where the host organisms live. Its host include open-pollinated plants, like cereal grains and and forage grasses. Some of the most commonly infected and well known plants include plants like rye, wheat, and barley. So, because of where its hosts live, one could accurately assume that it occurs most commonly in the grasslands of the world. There are also three groups that the species is divided into based on their slightly different habitats. The three groups are named cleverly as G1, G2 and G3. G1 is the most broad of the three groups, living on land grasses with few habitat restrictions. The G2 group is a little more specific, living on land grasses that live in a wet and shady environment. G3 has the most narrow host range of the distinct groups, living on land grasses only in salt marsh habitats.  

HOW IS ERGOT DISTRIBUTED?
Claviceps purpurea is immotile, so it relies on other means to distribute itself. When this fungus is living on it's host, it produces asexual spores by means of conidia. It then secretes its conidia in a substance called honeydew, which, just like it sounds, it a very thick liquid. This is good because then the honeydew gets on insects that land on the plant and spreads when the insect goes and lands on other plants. This honeydew mixture is also easily spread when raindrops fall and splash it onto other plants.

WHAT OTHER KINDS OF ORGANISMS LIVE IN ITS HABITAT?
As I stated above, this organism inhabits A TON of different habitats around the world, so there are a bunch of different organisms that it could potentially live with. Obviously, it lives with open-pollinating grasses, insects, and other wild animals, such as deer. One interesting thing that I realized as I was doing my research was that I came across quite a few Canadian sites. Many of these sites were about controlling this parasite, which led me to do some more research and I discovered that indeed, it shares a habitat with moose. My dad LOVES Canada and moose hunting, so that's the first animal I think of when I think of Canada. Also, this fungus can be a problem when it infects one's crop of barley, rye, or wheat. In this case, some more domesticated animals, like cows and horses, may be living in its habitat.

HOW DOES THIS ORGANISM FIT INTO ITS SPECIFIC NICHE?
Claviceps purpurea always parasitizes open-pollinated plants, like the examples stated above. This is their specific niche. To learn more about how and why these organisms are the hosts for Claviceps purpurea, make sure to check out the NUTRITION page!

Also be sure to check out this website if you want to know how to control this fungus if it infects your crops!