Harnessing endophytic fungi for sustainable agriculture: ecological roles, mechanisms, and future prospects

TL;DR

This review explores how endophytic fungi help crops grow better by improving nutrients, hormones, and stress resistance, offering a sustainable solution for agriculture.

Contribution

The paper systematically summarizes the mechanisms and agricultural potential of endophytic fungi, highlighting future research directions for sustainable practices.

Findings

Endophytic fungi enhance nutrient uptake and root development in crops.

They regulate phytohormones like IAA and gibberellins to improve plant growth.

They increase resistance to abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity.

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are asymptomatic microorganisms that inhabit plant tissues and play pivotal roles in regulating crop growth under field conditions. This review first provides an overview of their taxonomy and ecological functions, emphasizing natural diversity and distribution, then systematically summarizes their core mechanisms: enhancing nutrient uptake, regulating phytohormone biosynthesis, promoting root development, and boosting resistance to abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity). We further discuss the agricultural potential and existing challenges, including stability, persistence, and compatibility with current farming practices. Future research directions are outlined to advance sustainable agriculture, focusing on dissecting molecular interactions between endophytic fungi and crops, optimizing application techniques, and evaluating long-term ecological impacts. This work provides a comprehensive reference for agricultural scientists, ecologists, and researchers to facilitate the practical application of endophytic fungi, encouraging further research, and practical applications in this field.

Infographic illustrating how endophytic fungi support sustainable agriculture by interacting with plant roots to regulate hormones such as IAA and gibberellins, enhance nutrient absorption and circulation, promote chlorophyll synthesis, improve photosynthesis, increase resistance to stress, and bolster disease resistance, with annotated arrows and visual highlights connecting underground fungal networks to healthy plant growth.

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