Microbial endophytes: Progress and challenges

Abstract

Endophytes are microorganisms that reside in internal tissues of living plants without causing any negative effect. These offer remarkable potential for the exploitation of novel and eco-friendly secondary metabolites used in medicine, pharmaceutical industry, and agriculture. This chapter is focused on diversity in bioactive compounds of endophytic fungi, actinomycetes, and bacteria. Endophytes as novel source of potentially useful medicinal compounds are discussed along with the need to search for new and more effective agents from endophytes to combat disease problems.