Endophytic Yeasts: Biology and Applications

Abstract

Joubert, P. M., & Doty, S. L. (2018). Endophytic Yeasts: Biology, Ecology and Applications. Forestry Sciences, 3–14. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89833-9_1 Yeasts are a unique subset of the symbiotic microflora within plants. They inhabit a small, distinct niche along with endophytic bacteria and filamentous fungi. By producing plant hormones and other factors, endophytic yeasts contribute to the increased growth and health of the host plant. Lacking flagella or filamentous growth, they may have developed unique ways to colonize plants. Through research on endophytic yeast, new applications are apparent. Addition of yeast to crop plants for improved growth may be more publically acceptable than addition of bacteria. Endophytic yeasts have advantages over industrial yeast strains for biochemical production given their adaptations to utilizing both the hexose and pentose sugars of plants and their tolerance to phytochemicals. Research on endophytic yeast is a new field that can provide new knowledge in plant microbiology and adaptation as well as important agricultural and industrial applications. This review is a survey of the limited current literature on endophytic yeast isolations from a variety of plant species and a summary of papers that explored applications of these yeast isolates.