A review on plant endophytes in response to abiotic stress

Abstract

Endophytes, as microorganisms widely present in plants, have an important role in plant growth and development. Abiotic stresses are very essential influence on plant growth and development. Endophytes in host plants are diverse, however, beneficial endophytes are used to make plants resistant to abiotic stresses. This review focuses on studying the regulatory roles of different endophytes under abiotic stresses, and explained the special pathway and related mechanism of endophytes under heavy metal stress, such as cadmium, manganese and zinc stress. How do the dominant endophytes respond to salt and heat stress and affect plant physiological characteristics? In addition, we also summarized the potential and application of endophytes in reducing the toxicity of plant pathogens, promoting crop growth, biomedicine and ecological restoration, and other aspects, to provide reference for further in-depth research on the mechanism of action of plant endophytes under abiotic stresses and effective utilization of endophytes.