Endophytic Fungi–Plant Interactions and Ecology
A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 57
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant; endophytic fungi
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Endophytic fungi live symbiotically inside plant tissues without causing apparent harm. They play vital roles in enhancing plant growth, immunity, stress tolerance, and nutrient acquisition. During nutrient deficiency, endophytic fungi prioritize allocating more photosynthetic products to themselves, promoting their growth and the synthesis of stress-resistant substances. In turn, endophytic fungi allocate more resources to help the host resist stress. Endophytic fungi have a significant impact on the physical and chemical properties and microbial communities of soil by affecting litter decomposition and/or root metabolism. Yet, critical gaps remain in our understanding, including how climate change alters the specificity of these interactions, the molecular crosstalk driving mutualistic nutrient exchange, and how endophyte diversity scales to influence plant community resilience. This Special Issue will explore the evolving field of endophytic fungi-plant interactions through the lenses of climate change impact, molecular communication, and ecosystem resilience. It aims to deepen our understanding of how global environmental changes alter the specificity and dynamics of fungal endophyte symbioses with plants. Emphasis will be placed on the molecular crosstalk mechanisms that facilitate mutualistic nutrient exchange and the functional diversity of endophyte communities. Additionally, contributions are invited that investigate how endophyte diversity and interactions at multiple scales influence plant community structure, ecosystem stability, and resilience in the aspect of environmental stressors. This issue seeks multidisciplinary studies ranging from molecular biology to community ecology and environmental modeling to guide future sustainable ecosystem management.
Key Points:
- Impact of anthropogenic and environmental stressors (e.g., pollution, drought, and invasive species) on endophyte-plant interactions.
- Application of endophytic fungi in climate-resilient agriculture, grassland, and ecosystem restoration, including biocontrol, biofertilization, and phytoremediation.
- Functional implications of altered endophyte diversity on plant growth and stress adaptation.
- Integration of transcriptomics, metabolomics, and ecological data to elucidate endophyte functions.
- Impacts of changing endophyte populations on soil microbiomes and biogeochemical cycles amid global change.
Reviews, original research, and communications are welcome for submission for this Special Issue.
Dr. Zhenjiang Chen
Dr. Gensheng Bao
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- fungal endophytes
- plant–soil-microbe interaction
- functional diversity
- climate change
- ecosystem restoration
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