Endophytes are Plant Helpers: An Overview

In natural ecosystem plants are associated with endophytes. Endophytes are capable of producing extreme secondary metabolites that are used as biocontrol agents, immunosuppressive compounds, etc. (Tan and Zou, 2001). Endophytes have provided many useful compounds that are necessary in developing fields such as medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, etc. (Strobel et al., 2003). They may be seen in various habitats ranging from terrestrial to aquatic (Zhang et al., 2006). More importance is given to endophytes research because of declining global biodiversity, disappearance of species and ecosystem, etc. (Gimenez et al., 2007). Availability and composition of microbes present in the host plant depend on various factors. Plant interaction with endophytes leads to plant productivity, enhance soil health, nutrients uptake by the plant (Mei and Flinn, 2010), and defence against plant stress, disease and insects (Gao et al., 2010).