Endophytic Actinobacteria for Sustainable Agricultural Applications

Abstract

Endophytes (fungi and bacteria) have been known to live asymptomat- ically with plants throughout the different growth and developmental stages. Endophytic microbes provide an additional resource to the plant due to the presence of beneficial secondary metabolites, enzymes, and nutrients, which help the host to combat diverse arrays of stressful conditions of biotic and abiotic stresses. Extracellular enzymes are the product of microbial’s cell growth and perform its function outside the cell in many biological or environmental processes. In fact, certain category of enzymes namely, xylanases, hemicellulases, phytases, proteases, asparaginase, cellulases, pectinases, tyrosinase, gelatinase, chitinase, amylases, etc., are some of the key enzymes produced by endophytic bacteria and fungi. Most of these enzymes have been reported from endophytes living within medicinal or crop plants, whereas they are detected through agar-based methods. The current chapter aims to identify the sources, kinds of enzymes, and the perspectives for further studies in their application in endophytic-based extracellular enzymes resources.