Beneficial Relationships Between Fungal Endophytes and Host Plants
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1107
Special Issue Editor
Interests: endophytic fungi; natural products; secondary metabolites; biological activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fungal endophytes have been found in every plant species that has been extensively studied so far. Endophytes possess a close continual metabolic interaction with their host plants, ranging from symbiotic to pathogenic. Plants can provide suitable ecological habitats for endophytes such as space and nutrients. In turn, endophytes may contribute to their host plants by synthesizing a large number of beneficial active substances. These substances include plant hormones that enhance the growth of their hosts, as well as bioactive secondary metabolites that increase the resistance to the biotic/abiotic stresses of hosts. This interaction between the endophytes and host plants is complex and mutualistic. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply investigate the interaction between the endophytes and host plants, especially the beneficial relationships that ultimately provide survival value to the plants. This Special Issue aims to focus on these beneficial relationships between endophytes and their host plants, with emphasis on the ecology of fungal endophytes, plant–endophyte interactions, and diverse secondary metabolites isolated from endophytes.
Dr. Peng Zhang
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- fungal endophytes
- plants
- mutualism
- secondary metabolites
- plant hormones
- interaction
- ecology
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