Synergistic partnerships of endophytic fungi for bioactive compound production and biotic stress management in medicinal plants
Muhammad Usman,
Iftikhar Hussain Shah,
Irfan Ali Sabir,
M. Sanaullah Malik,
Abdul Rehman,
Ghulam Murtaza,
Muhammad Azam,
Saeed ur Rahman,
Asad Rehman,
Ghulam Abbas Ashraf,
Muhammad Waheed Riaz,
Shams ur Rehman,
Mouna Jeridi,
Guohui Li,
Cheng Song,
Muhammad Aamir Manzoor
Affiliations
Muhammad Usman
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Iftikhar Hussain Shah
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Irfan Ali Sabir
College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
M. Sanaullah Malik
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Abdul Rehman
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Ghulam Murtaza
Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
Muhammad Azam
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Saeed ur Rahman
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Asad Rehman
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China
Ghulam Abbas Ashraf
New Uzbekistan University, Mustaqillik Ave. 54, Tashkent 100007, Uzbekistan
Muhammad Waheed Riaz
State Key Laboratory of Wheat Breeding, Group of Wheat Quality and Molecular Breeding, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271000, China
Shams ur Rehman
National Key Laboratory of Wheat Improvement, Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Agriculture Sciences in Weifang, Weifang, Shandong 261325, China
Mouna Jeridi
Biology Department, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
Guohui Li
Anhui Dabieshan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources, Anhui Engineering Research Center for Eco-agriculture of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu'an 237012, China; Corresponding author.
Cheng Song
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China; Anhui Dabieshan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources, Anhui Engineering Research Center for Eco-agriculture of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu'an 237012, China; Corresponding author at: School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China.
Muhammad Aamir Manzoor
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, PR China; Corresponding author at: School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China.
The fungal endophytes are an understudied area of research with great potential for new bioactive compounds’ discovery. These are the fungal strains that live within the inner compartments of the host plant without causing it any kind of harm. These fungal endophytes, in combination with the host organisms, synthesize many compounds with a range of pharmaceutical values. Most recently, the discovery of fungal endophyte genes which are linked with the biosynthesis of plant metabolites has opened a new field of research. These plant partners assist plants against biotic stress and protect them from pathogenic attacks or diseases with the presence of some important gene families like WRKY and MYB. The bioactive metabolites from this group are known for their anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-tubercular properties. Therefore, these bioactive compounds offer new routes for discovering novel drugs, which can boost the pharmaceutical industry in times of great demand for novel drugs. Extracellular enzymes are also produced within the members of this distinct group which are crucial for several industrial sectors, including the biofuel production industry. Furthermore, fungal endophytes are capable of synthesizing silver nanoparticles, which exhibit significant potential in fields like biomedical imaging and water purification. This article aims to document all the available data on this group of fungi living in medicinal plants and the major compounds produced by members of this distinct group that are in use for the therapy of various ailments.
