Beneficial Effects of Endophytic Fungi Colonization On Plants

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Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2019) 103:3327–3340

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-019-09713-2

MINI-REVIEW

Beneficial effects of endophytic fungi colonization on plants


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Lu Yan 1 & Jing Zhu 1 & Xixi Zhao & Junling Shi 1 & Chunmei Jiang 1 & Dongyan Shao 1

Received: 30 October 2018 / Revised: 21 February 2019 / Accepted: 22 February 2019 / Published online: 7 March 2019
# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
Due to increasingly limited water resources, diminishing farmland acreage, and potentially negative effects of climate change, an
urgent need exists to improve agricultural productivity to feed the ever-growing population. Plants interact with microorganisms
at all trophic levels, adapting growth, developmental, and defense responses within a complicated network of community
members. Endophytic fungi have been widely reported for their ability to aid in the defense of their host plants. Currently, many
reports focus on the application of endophytic fungi with the capability to produce valuable bioactive molecules, while others
focus on endophytic fungi as biocontrol agents. Plant responses upon endophytic fungi colonization are also good for the immune
system of the plant. In this paper, the possible mechanisms between endophytic fungi and their hosts were reviewed. During long-
term evolution, plants have acquired numerous beneficial strategies in response to endophytic fungi colonization. The interaction
of endophytic fungi with plants modulates the relationship between plants and both biotic and abiotic stresses. It has previously
been reported that this endophytic relationship confers additional defensive mechanisms on the modulation of the plant immune
system, as the result of the manipulation of direct antimicrobial metabolites such as alkaloids to indirect phytohormones,
jasmonic acid, or salicylic acid. Furthermore, plants have evolved to cope with combinations of stresses and experiments are
required to address specific questions related to these multiple stresses. This review summarizes our current understanding of the
intrinsic mechanism to better utilize these benefits for plant growth and disease resistance. It contributes new ideas to increase
plant fitness and crop productivity.

Keywords Endophytic fungi . Pathogen . Plant immune responses . Plant fitness . Phytohormone . Stress resistance

Introduction and rhizobia of the family Fabaceae (legumes). These symbi-


otic associations are characterized by the early formation of
Plants harbor a wide diversity of microorganisms such as bac- particular organs and new tissues for the signaling and nutrient
teria, fungi, archaea, algae, and protists both within and out- communications between plants and microorganisms (Zipfel
side of their tissues. During long-term evolution, complicated and Oldroyd 2017; Bonfante and Genre 2008). Nevertheless,
interactions have gradually formed between these species, growing evidence indicates that endophytic associations can
leading to the symbiosis between them rather than leaving also be important for plant fitness (Zuccaro et al. 2014; Khare
them as isolated entities (Hassani et al. 2018). The interactions et al. 2018).
between these microorganisms and plants beneficially impact With the constant discovery of additional fungi inside
plant survival, fitness, biodiversity, and ecosystem function asymptomatic plant organs, endophytes have evoked great
(Bai et al. 2017; Rosier et al. 2016; Sasse et al. 2017). The interests among scientists around the world in the 1970s, such
most widespread symbiotic associations in plant roots are as the discovery of the clavicipitaceous endophytic fungus
known as relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Neotyphodium coenophialum, which is toxic to cattle fed with
tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) (Clay 1989; Bacon et al.
1977; Cline et al. 2018; Li et al. 2017). Plants containing toxic
alkaloids and endophytes show high tolerance to biotic and
* Junling Shi
sjlshi2004@nwpu.edu.cn
abiotic stresses (Carroll 1988; Chagas et al. 2018).
Subsequently, considerable evidence indicated endophytic as-
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sociations to be important for the plant immune system
Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of (Soliman et al. 2015), disease suppression (Terhonen et al.
Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 127 Youyi
West Road, Xi’an 710072, Shaanxi Province, China 2016), nutrient acquisition (Hiruma et al. 2016), and tolerance

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