Multifaceted Interactions Between Endophytes and Plant: Developments and Prospects

Abstract

Microbial endophytes are present in all known plant species. The ability to enter and thrive in the plant tissues makes endophytes unique, showing multidimensional interactions within the host plant. Several vital activities of the host plant are known to be influenced by the presence of endophytes. They can promote plant growth, elicit defense response against pathogen attack, and can act as remediators of abiotic stresses. To date, most of the research has been done assuming that the interaction of endophytes with the host plant is similar to the plant growth-promoting (PGP) microbes present in the rhizosphere. However, a new appreciation of the difference of the rhizosphere environment from that of internal plant tissues is gaining attention. It would be interesting to explore the impact of endosymbionts on the host’s gene expression, metabolism, and other physiological aspects essential in conferring resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. A more intriguing and inexplicable issue with many endophytes that has to be critically evaluated is their ability to produce host metabolites, which can be harnessed on a large scale for potential use in diverse areas. In this review, we discuss the concept of endophytism, looking into the latest insights related to the multifarious interactions beneficial for the host plant and exploring the importance of these associations in agriculture and the environment and in other vital aspects such as human health.

Influences of Climate on Phyllosphere Endophytic Bacterial Communities of Wild Poplar

“…The plant microbiome plays a major role in the plant response to abiotic factors and mitigation of stresses through the induction of tolerance mechanisms via phytohormone production, improved water-use efficiency, nutrient uptake, and uptake/degradation of pollutants (e.g., heavy metals and organic pollutants) (Khare et al, 2018;Lata et al, 2018). In addition, the host could directly affect the composition of the plant-associated microbial community by modifying the chemical features of the surrounding environment (Gopal and Gupta, 2016).…”

Endophytic fungi for sustainable agriculture

“…The main action of Colonization by Endophytic fungi includes increase in the availability of nutrients, suppression of plant pathogens, nematodes and insects, phytohormone production, phytoremediation and rhizoremediation, and by conferring stress resistance to host plants. Different endophytes have the ability to fix, solubilize, and mobilize the microand macroelements for plant (Khan et al 2012;Anitha et al 2013;Zhoua et al 2014;Jain and Pundir 2017;Arora and Ramawat 2017;Lata et al 2018;Khare et al 2018;Kumar et al 2019).…”

Jasmonic Acid, Not Salicyclic Acid Restricts Endophytic Root Colonization of Rice

“…In the gradient from bulk soil to the rhizosphere and endorhizosphere, the microbial community tends to have lower diversity and a higher degree of specialization toward the root interior (Reinhold-Hurek et al, 2015). Thus, endophytic bacteria are of high interest to study fundamental questions of molecular interactions but are also a mostly untapped reservoir for agro-biotechnological applications, e.g., for improvement of plant growth and health (Berendsen et al, 2012;Khare et al, 2018), phytoremediation (Barac et al, 2004), or as biofertilizer.…”