Forest endophytes as a biological resource insights into their role in sustainable agriculture and agroforestry
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
- 2Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
- 3Department of Fruit Science, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
- 4Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Abstract
Forest ecosystems are the hidden reservoir of beneficial microorganisms, particularly for endophytes, that colonize plant tissue internally without causing any disease symptoms and play a key role in plant health and ecosystem sustainability. Forest-derived endophytic bacteria and fungi are crucial in nutrient cycling, stress resistance and growth promotion via phosphorus solubilization, nitrogen fixation and synthesis of phytohormones. Those microbes allow plants to survive in low-nutrient and stressful environments. This review offers insights into the diversity, abundance, distribution, and functional characteristics of endophytes within forest environments over a diversity of host species and climatic zones. Through decomposition and transformation of organic matter, endophytic microbes contribute to soil fertility. Several functional genes facilitate this process, including nifH (involved in nitrogen fixation), phoD (associated with phosphate mobilization) and glcA (associated with organic acid synthesis). In addition to this, endophytes synthesize antioxidants and modify gene expression under varying environmental conditions, including high CO2, increased temperature, and nitrogen enrichment. Besides providing innate immunity against pathogens, they also stimulate the host’s defence mechanisms and synthesize antimicrobial compounds. Innovative, biotechnologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 and RNA interference offer to develop and improve the desired traits for targeted agroforestry and agriculture applications. In light of their multifunctional capabilities and ecological significance forest endophytes are an important biological resource that can be incorporated successfully in farming to increase crop yield, stress tolerance, and to minimize the application of chemical inputs.
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BibTeX
@article{gajendran2026forest,
title = {{Forest endophytes as a biological resource insights into their role in sustainable agriculture and agroforestry}},
author = {Vaishnavi Pratha Gajendran and Poulomi Mukherjee and Jegan Periakaruppan and Manimaran Gajendiran and Kaviya Sree Krishnan and Raghu Rajasekaran and Balachandar Dananjeyan and Anandham Rangasamy},
journal = {Discover Plants},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s44372-026-00932-2},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00932-2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Forest endophytes as a biological resource insights into their role in sustainable agriculture and agroforestry
AU - Vaishnavi Pratha Gajendran
AU - Poulomi Mukherjee
AU - Jegan Periakaruppan
AU - Manimaran Gajendiran
AU - Kaviya Sree Krishnan
AU - Raghu Rajasekaran
AU - Balachandar Dananjeyan
AU - Anandham Rangasamy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Discover Plants
DO - 10.1007/s44372-026-00932-2
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00932-2
AB - Forest ecosystems are the hidden reservoir of beneficial microorganisms, particularly for endophytes, that colonize plant tissue internally without causing any disease symptoms and play a key role in plant health and ecosystem sustainability. Forest-derived endophytic bacteria and fungi are crucial in nutrient cycling, stress resistance and growth promotion via phosphorus solubilization, nitrogen fixation and synthesis of phytohormones. Those microbes allow plants to survive in low-nutrient and stressful environments. This review offers insights into the diversity, abundance, distribution, and functional characteristics of endophytes within forest environments over a diversity of host species and climatic zones. Through decomposition and transformation of organic matter, endophytic microbes contribute to soil fertility. Several functional genes facilitate this process, including nifH (involved in nitrogen fixation), phoD (associated with phosphate mobilization) and glcA (associated with organic acid synthesis). In addition to this, endophytes synthesize antioxidants and modify gene expression under varying environmental conditions, including high CO2, increased temperature, and nitrogen enrichment. Besides providing innate immunity against pathogens, they also stimulate the host’s defence mechanisms and synthesize antimicrobial compounds. Innovative, biotechnologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 and RNA interference offer to develop and improve the desired traits for targeted agroforestry and agriculture applications. In light of their multifunctional capabilities and ecological significance forest endophytes are an important biological resource that can be incorporated successfully in farming to increase crop yield, stress tolerance, and to minimize the application of chemical inputs.
SN - 3005-1207
ER -