Potential Roles for Endophytic Fungi in Biotechnological Processes: A Review

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are the microbes which colonize the interior healthy plant tissues without causing disease. Endophytes have the ability to utilize various organic compounds such as carbon sources, which enable them to play an important role in the degradation of structural components such as leaf litter, wood, lignin components, and also environmental pollutants. Many endophytic fungi are known to produce a wide spectrum of volatile organic compounds with potential energy applications which have been described as mycodiesel. Biotransformation can be defined as the use of biological systems to produce chemical changes on compounds which are not easily prepared by the chemical methods. This review has attempted to reveal the biotechnological potential of endophytic fungi.