Plants are subjected to multifaceted stresses that significantly jeopardize crop production. Pathogenic microbes influence biotic stress in plants, which ultimately causes annual crop loss worldwide. Although the use of pesticides and fungicides can curb the proliferation of pathogens in plants and enhance crop production, they pollute the environment and cause several health issues in humans and animals. Hence, there is a need for alternative biocontrol agents that offer an eco-friendly mode of controlling plant diseases. This review discusses fungal- and bacterial-induced stress in plants, which causes various plant diseases, and the role of biocontrol defense mechanisms, for example, the production of hydrolytic enzymes, secondary metabolites, and siderophores by stress-tolerant fungi and bacteria to combat plant pathogens. It is observed that beneficial endophytes could sustain crop production and resolve the issues regarding crop yield caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens. The collated literature review indicates that future research is necessary to identify potential biocontrol agents that can minimize the utility of synthetic pesticides and increase the tenable agricultural production.

Conventional products have a role in addressing the thriving universal demands for biologically active substances. Since the South China Sea is a prodigious province of geostrategic and mercantile importance, it meets the basic needs of people who dwell there. The South China Sea is dominant in mangrove biodiversity which, represents 11.4% of the world’s 15.5 million hectares of mangrove forest. Mangroves are harbored by multifaceted fungal communities that represent the second colossal ecological breed of marine fungi. The symbiotic association between the plants and fungi stimulates the bioactive components such as alkaloid, depsipeptides, cyclic peptides, quinone, terpenes, lactones, terpenoid, flavonoid, phenolic acid, steroids. These components have multifaceted pharmacological activities likely, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial. This review article attempts to present a piece of insightful information currently being explored on the biologically active components generated by mangrove endophytic fungi of the South China Sea.