Recent advances in endophyte-mediated biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in plants.
Mohammed SP, Jakkula D, Srinivasan R
Soil Health
PubMedBeneficial microbes already living inside the plants in your garden and grocery store could soon be harnessed to grow healthier food with fewer pesticides and less water — making agriculture more resilient to the increasingly unpredictable weather driven by climate change.
Plants aren't alone inside their own stems and leaves — they host communities of bacteria and fungi that help them grow stronger and fight off threats. These inner companions can boost a plant's ability to handle drought, salty soils, heavy metals, and attacks from pests or diseases, all without synthetic chemicals. Scientists are now mapping exactly how this partnership works at a molecular level, with the goal of bottling these microbes as eco-friendly crop treatments.
Key Findings
Endophytes (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes living inside plant tissues) improve crop resilience against a broad spectrum of stresses including drought, salinity, extreme temperature, heavy metal toxicity, and pathogens — all documented in a rapidly growing body of global research.
These microbes work through multiple mechanisms simultaneously: enhancing nutrient uptake, regulating plant hormones, boosting antioxidant defenses, improving water-use efficiency, and triggering the plant's own immune system against pathogens and insects.
A bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature confirms a rapid worldwide surge in endophyte research, though key obstacles remain — including strain-specific inconsistency in field conditions, ecological compatibility concerns, and barriers to commercial scaling.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Tiny microbes living inside plant tissues — called endophytes — can help crops survive drought, disease, pollution, and extreme temperatures without relying on chemical pesticides or fertilizers. This review synthesizes the latest research showing how these internal plant partners work and why scaling them up for modern farming is both promising and challenging.
Abstract Preview
The review discusses endophyte-mediated tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, molecular-omics signalling insights, and a bibliometric overview. This emphasis is on endophytes as sustainable too...
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