A Review of Endophytic Fungi and their Applications in Different Fields of Biotechnology

Abstract

Endophytic fungus is an intriguing group of organisms that live inside their host's living tissues, which are primarily higher plants. Endophytes generate naturally occurring bioactive chemicals that are thought to operate as an elicitor for the synthesis of secondary metabolites in plants, without causing any disease symptoms in the host cells. By imparting stress tolerance and enhancing host resistance to a range of diseases, this incredibly varied collection of fungus can have a significant influence on plant ecosystems. They are known to improve nutrition through the reversible exchange of nutrients and protect plants from infections, which in turn affects development by releasing plant growth hormones. Endophytic fungus-infected plants exhibit notable increases in biomass, enhance commercial plant output, and are therefore beneficial to the agricultural industry. The potential uses of endophytic fungi as biological vectors, biological control agents, and insecticidal products, sources of secondary metabolites, antimicrobial agents, antitumor compounds, antibiotics, immunosuppressants, and antidiabetic agents make them of biotechnological interest. The current study concentrated on the numerous uses of fungal endophytes in several biotechnology fields.