Record ID No. |
4700 |
Author(s) |
João Lúcio Azevedo , 2014 |
Affiliation |
Faculty of Agriculture (ESALQ), Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Email: jlazevedo@usp.br |
Title |
Endophytic Fungi from Brazilian Tropical Hosts and Their Biotechnological Applications |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Microbial Diversity and Biotechnology in Food Security 17-22p. |
Categories |
Mycorrhiza General |
Subjects |
Biological Interaction |
Sub-subjects |
Soil microorganism |
Host |
Plants |
Organism |
Mycorrhizal fungi |
Country |
Brazil, S. America |
Abstracts |
Endophytic microorganisms are defined in different ways, and a recent definition considers them as all of the microorganisms culturable or not that inhabit the inner parts of plant tissues and cause no harm to their hosts. They can be divided into two groups: those that do not generate external structures from the host (group I) and those which are able to develop external structures such as the nodules of N2-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi (group II). Endophytic microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria play important roles in their plant hosts. The first studies with endophytes were conducted in temperate regions but have recently also been studied in plants from tropical countries. This chapter provides selected data obtained in Brazil mainly for endophytic fungi and focuses on their agricultural applications including the biological control of diseases and insect pests, and the promotion of plant growth. The biotechnological potential of the endophytic fungi isolated from not yet fully explored Brazilian environments such as the Amazon and Atlantic rain forests and mangrove forests is also discussed. |