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Plant-endophyte symbiosis, an ecological perspective

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Abstract

Endophytism is the phenomenon of mutualistic association of a plant with a microorganism wherein the microbe lives within the tissues of the plant without causing any symptoms of disease. In addition to being a treasured biological resource, endophytes play diverse indispensable functions in nature for plant growth, development, stress tolerance, and adaptation. Our understanding of endophytism and its ecological aspects are overtly limited, and we have only recently started to appreciate its essence. Endophytes may impact plant biology through the production of diverse chemical entities including, but not limited to, plant growth hormones and by modulating the gene expression of defense and other secondary metabolic pathways of the host. Studies have shown differential recruitment of endophytes in endophytic populations of plants growing in the same locations, indicating host specificity and that endophytes evolve in a coordinated fashion with the host plants. Endophytic technology can be employed for the efficient production of agricultural and economically important plants and plant products. The rational application of endophytes to manipulate the microbiota, intimately associated with plants, can help in enhancement of production of agricultural produce, increased production of key metabolites in medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as adaption to new bio-geographic regions through tolerance to various biotic and abiotic conditions. However, the potential of endophytic biology can be judiciously harnessed only when we obtain insight into the molecular mechanism of this unique mutualistic relationship. In this paper, we present a discussion on endophytes, endophytism, their significance, and diverse functions in nature as unraveled by the latest research to understand this universal natural phenomenon.

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Acknowledgments

ZAW and TM are grateful to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, for their respective fellowships. SRH and NA acknowledge the financial support obtained from CSIR 12th FYP projects “PMSI” (BSC0117) and “SIMPLE” (BSC0109) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. This review paper bears the institutional manuscript number IIIM/1757/2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbial Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu Tawi, 180 001, India

    Zahoor Ahmed Wani & Syed Riyaz-Ul-Hassan

  2. Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Sanat Nagar, Srinagar, 190 005, India

    Nasheeman Ashraf & Tabasum Mohiuddin

  3. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu Tawi, 180 001, India

    Zahoor Ahmed Wani, Nasheeman Ashraf, Tabasum Mohiuddin & Syed Riyaz-Ul-Hassan

Authors
  1. Zahoor Ahmed Wani
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  2. Nasheeman Ashraf
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  3. Tabasum Mohiuddin
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  4. Syed Riyaz-Ul-Hassan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Syed Riyaz-Ul-Hassan.

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Wani, Z.A., Ashraf, N., Mohiuddin, T. et al. Plant-endophyte symbiosis, an ecological perspective. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 2955–2965 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6487-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6487-3

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