Endophytes as nature's gift to plants to combat abiotic stresses

Abstract

In recent decades, scientists have recognized that plants' distinct and immensely dynamic microbial communities are more than just "passengers," but instead, play an important role in their development, and shielding against abiotic and biotic stresses. Endophytes comprise fungi and bacteria that live within plant tissues and support growth when plants are under stress. All plants in nature are considered to have symbiotic association with endophytes. A comprehensive review of the accessible data suggests that mobility, cell-wall degradation capacity, and reactive oxygen species scavenging are critical attributes for the successful colonization of endophytes. Plants encounter several abiotic stresses caused by climate change and global warming, which have an effect on their growth and production. Abiotic stress like high temperature, salinity, and high precipitation can severely affect plants compared to biotic stress. This review aims to highlight what role endophytes play to aid plant growth under abiotic stress conditions like heat, salinity, and drought. In the current review, we discuss how endophytic microbes can be efficiently used for the improvement and promotion of plant growth and crop production under abiotic stress conditions.

Keywords: abiotic stress; antioxidants; drought; endophytes; heavy metal; microbes; phytohormones; salinity; temperature.