Role of endophytes

2. ECOLOGICAL
INSIGHTS OF
ENDOPHYTES
Submitted by
Ritu kalakar
Ph.d Scholar
Doctoral Seminar
on

3. 23/11/2019
3
INTRODUCTION
Plants are colonized by complex microbial communities that play
different roles regarding plant growth and health
Some microbial members cause diseases
Some promote plant
i. Enhance nutrient acquisition
ii. Tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses
Brader et al., 2017

4. 23/11/2019
4
Based on different plant environments, microbiota associated with
plants can be found on
Outer plant parts:
Rhizoplane/ rhizosphere and
phylloplane/ phyllosphere
Inner plant parts:
Endosphere
4
Brader et al., 2017

5. 23/11/2019
5
ENDOPHYTES
The word endophyte derived from Greek words endon (within) and
phyton (plant)
Means microorganisms lives inside the plants
The term endophyte most commonly refers to microorganisms
that can be isolated from surface disinfected plant tissues without
visible diseased symptoms (Hallman, 1997)
5

6. 23/11/2019
6
An endophyte is an endosymbiont, often bacterium or fungus, that lives
within a plant for at least part of its life without causing apparent disease
in the host (Wilson, 1995)
Endophytes can defined solely by their colonization niche but not by
their function (Hardoim, 2014 )
6

7. 23/11/2019
7
Types of endophytes
Fungal endophytes Bacterial endophytes
7

8. 23/11/2019
8
FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES
One and half million fungal species exist in the world
One million species of endophytic fungi are reported
Fungal endophytes are extremely common and highly diverse
microorganisms that live within plant tissues but usually do not
produce symptoms
(Reyfuss and Chapela, 1994)

9. 23/11/2019
9
Endophytic
Fungi
Increased tolerance
to biotic and abiotic
stress
Phyto-hormone
production
Greater absorption
of nutrients from soil
Solubilizing nutrients
from soil
Enhanced
Phosphorous uptake
Nitrogen transfer
Rai et al., 2014

10. THANK YOU