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Maize is consumed world-wide as staple food, livestock feed, and industrial raw material. However, it is susceptible to fungal attack and at risk of aflatoxin contamination under certain conditions. Such contamination is a serious threat to human and animal health. Ensuring that the maize used by food industry meets standards for aflatoxin levels requires significant investment across the supply chain. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) form a critical part of a broader, integrated strategy for reduction of aflatoxin contamination. We reviewed and summarised the GAP of maize that would be effective and practicable for aflatoxin control within high-risk regions for smallholder farmers. The suggested practicable GAP for smallholder farmers were: use of drought-tolerant varieties; timely harvesting before physiological maturity; sorting to remove damaged ears and those having poor husk covering; drying properly to 13% moisture content; storage in suitable conditions to keep the crop clean and under condition with minimally proper aeration, or ideally under hermetic conditions. This information is intended to provide guidance for maize growers that will help reduce aflatoxin in high-risk regions, with a specific focus on smallholder farmers. Following the proposed guidelines would contribute to the reduction of aflatoxin contamination during pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages of the maize value chain.

Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)) is the cause of widespread mortality of Carolina and eastern hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelmann and T. canadensis (L.) Carrière) throughout the eastern United States (U.S.). Since its arrival in the northeastern U.S., HWA has steadily invaded and established throughout eastern hemlock stands. However, in 2018, anecdotal evidence suggested a sharp, widespread HWA decline in the northeastern U.S. following above-average summer and autumn rainfall. To quantify this decline in HWA density and investigate its cause, we surveyed HWA density in hemlock stands from northern Massachusetts to southern Connecticut and analyzed HWA density and summer mortality in Pennsylvania. As native fungal entomopathogens are known to infect HWA in the northeastern U.S. and rainfall facilitates propagation and spread of fungi, we hypothesized high rainfall facilitates fungal infection of aestivating nymphs, leading to a decline in HWA density. We tested this hypothesis by applying a rain-simulation treatment to hemlock branches with existing HWA infestations in western MA. Our results indicate a regional-scale decline and subsequent rebound in HWA density that correlates with 2018 rainfall at each site. Experimental rain treatments resulted in higher proportions of aestivating nymphs with signs of mortality compared to controls. In conjunction with no evidence of increased mortality from extreme winter or summer temperatures, our results demonstrate an indirect relationship between high rainfall and regional HWA decline. This knowledge may lead to better prediction of HWA population dynamics.

A agricultura sustentável busca meios alternativos para controlar o ataque fúngico de acordo com as particularidades de cada fungo, com o intuito de reduzir o uso de agroquí­micos. Os extratos alcóolicos são uma alternativa, visto que são produtos naturais extraí­dos de plantas ou de partes da mesma que apresentam efeito fungicida. Desse modo o objetivo desse trabalho foi testar o controle in vitro do Rhizoctonia sp. utilizando diferentes concentrações de extrato alcoólicos de Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis). Para isso foi instalado um experimento em delineamento inteiramente ao acaso com 6 concentrações de extrato alcoólico de Sacha Inchi (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% e 10%) com 8 repetições. Foram mensurados o crescimento diário da colônia, o í­ndice de velocidade de crescimento micelial (IVCM) e a porcentagem de inibição de crescimento (PIC). Os dados obtidos foram analisados via analise de regressão polinomial utilizando o software R Studio. A partir da concentração de 6% o fungo apresenta pequeno desenvolvimento, e na dose máxima testada (10%) o crescimento do fungo foi praticamente nulo. O extrato alcoólico de Sacha Inchi foi eficiente a partir da concentração de 6%, o que o torna indicado para o controle do fungo Rhizoctonia sp

Skin morbidities are the major threat faced by the young adults of India. Various factors like climate, genetic factors, environmental factors, hygiene, dietary habits etc. Contribute to this ailments. There are both oral and topical medication for treating skin diseases. Antimicrobial agents in creams, ointments, lotions etc. Are used for the dermal treatments when bacterial and fungal attack is suspected or diagnosed. In this study, an ointment for treating skin morbidities was formulated using calendula officinalis and echinacae purpurae mother tinctures, evaluation and HPTLC profiling of the formulated ointment was performed with toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid: methanol in the ratio 14:10:2:1 as mobile phase with standard procedures and scanned with camag TLC scanner 3 at 254 and 366nm.the HPTLC profiling of the simple ointment and mother tincture ointments showed 8 spots and 7 spots at 254 nm respectively.

Biological durability issues in cross-laminated timber (CLT) have been majorly ignored in North America because of the European origin of the material and careful construction practices in Europe. However, the risks of fungal and insect attacks are increased by the North American climatic conditions and lack of job-site measures to keep the material dry. The methods to evaluate durability in solid timber are inadequate for use in mass timber (MT) for a number of reasons, such as moisture variation and size being critical issues. This study therefore proposes a method, which is suitable to evaluate the strength of MT assemblies that are exposed to fungal degradation. The objective of the study was to explore a controlled method for assessing the effects of wetting and subsequent fungal attack on the behavior of CLT connections. Two different methods were used to create fungal attack on CLT assemblies. Although they were both successful, one was cumbersome, left room for many errors, and was not as efficient as the other. In addition, a standardized method to evaluate and characterize key performance metric for the connections is presented.

espanolEn aras de contribuir a la seguridad alimentaria y a la motivacion de los pequenos productores de hortalizas del departamento de Sucre (Colombia), se implemento este ensayo bajo la premisa de que el calcio en el suelo contribuye a tener plantas con pared celular mucho mas resistentes al ataque fungico y con ello se disminuye la aparicion de enfermedades. Con base en lo anterior, se establecio este ensayo en cultivo de tomate, en la que se establecieron cinco (5) dosis de calcio (0, 1, 2, 3 y 4 ton.ha-1) y tres repeticiones en un diseno completamente al azar. Como fuente de calcio se utilizo un producto comercial que contiene 37% de CaO y 5,3% de MgO. El objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de diferentes dosis de calcio en los componentes del rendimiento del cultivo del tomate Chonto en condiciones semicontroladas en Sucre – Caribe colombiano. El suelo fue de reaccion acida y de baja oferta nutricional. Se utilizo un diseno completamente al azar con tres repeticiones. La informacion fue almacenada en tablas Excel y procesada con el programa estadistico SAS 9.0, se hizo analisis de varianza y de regresion. Se encontro que las dosis 2 y 3 ton.ha-1 favorecio el crecimiento de las plantas de tomate, aumentando dimensiones del fruto, peso del fruto y rendimiento y los modelos que explican esas tendencias son de orden lineal. EnglishIn order to contribute to food security and the motivation of small vegetable producers in the department of Sucre (Colombia), this trial was implemented under the premise that calcium in the soil contributes to plants with cell walls that are much more resistant to fungal attack and thereby decreases the onset of diseases. Based on the above, this trial was established in tomato culture, in which five (5) doses of calcium (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 ton.ha-1) and three repetitions in a completely design were established random. A commercial product containing 37% CaO and 5.3% MgO was used as a source of calcium. The objective was to evaluate the effect of different doses of calcium on the yield components of the Chonto tomato crop in semi-controlled conditions in Sucre - Colombian Caribbean. The soil was acidic and low nutritional offer. A completely randomized design with three repetitions was used. The information was stored in Excel tables and processed with the statistical program SAS 9.0, analysis of variance and regression. It was found that doses 2 and 3 ton.ha-1 favored the growth of tomato plants, increasing fruit dimensions, fruit weight and yield and the models that explain these trends are linear.

Harvestmen are one of the largest groups of arachnids with more than 6,500 species distributed in 1,500 genera and 50 families. However, the interactions between harvestmen and arthropod-pathogenic fungi have rarely been studied. Certain previous studies report that fungal attack represents one of the most important factors for the mortality of harvestmen, but the fungus has rarely been identified, and most of the important information about the fungus-host interactions remains unrecorded. In the present study, we have described the new species Auranus quilombola sp. nov. and reported its interactions with the arthropod-pathogenic fungus Gibellula sp. Auranus quilombola sp. nov. belongs to the family Stygnidae, and it is endemic to the humid mountain forests of Ceará state, Brazil in an area of endemism known as Brejos Cearenses. The species is related to five other species of Auranus, all of which have been recorded from the Amazon rainforest. A taxonomic description of this new species and its biogeographic implications have also been discussed in this paper.

Antimicrobial agents have been used in leather manufacturing to prevent leather products from microbial contamination. In this work, the antifungal activity of green solvent such as propylene carbonate was investigated against the mixed culture of fungi isolated from wet-blue using broth dilution/well diffusion. A concentration of 5% and above (propylene carbonate) showed effective antifungal activity against the mixed culture of fungi and the efficiency of propylene carbonate on the mixed culture increased with increasing concentration/volume. Propylene carbonate exhibited fungistatic activity against the mixed culture of fungi but it lost its activity after a certain period and fungal growth was observed again. It was also found that 2% propylene carbonate in chrome tanning process effectively inhibited the fungal growth and the wet-blue can be preserved up to 30 days without any fungal attack.

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring non-flavonoid polyphenol which is found in a variety of plants, where it responses to the injury or fungal attack. This important compound has different beneficial activities such as antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antiaging. Also, it has anti-fibrotic and hepatoprotective effects. Besides the beneficial effects of resveratrol, limitations such as poor solubility in water, low oxidative stability and high photosensitivity have restricted its application. To prevail to these restrictions, nanotechnology is a smart strategy. This review discusses various kinds of nano delivery systems that have been applied for enclosing resveratrol.

AIMS To evaluate whether decoloured cell-free supernatant of Lysobacter enzymogenes C3 can decrease paper bioreceptivity to fungal attack. METHODS AND RESULTS To prepare colourless C3 supernatant, single-factor design and uniform design were applied. The optimum conditions with high decolouration degree and low antifungal activity loss were achieved as follows: carbon granule content 1·6% (M/V), temperature 27°C, decolouring time 1·2 h and pH 8·0. An agar plate bioassay was used to assess the antifungal activity of the decoloured supernatant against the fungal isolates obtained from contaminated books, and strong suppression was observed. Small-sacle laboratory test was further introduced, in which common book papers were artificially inoculated with the fungal isolates, and then sprayed uniformly with decoloured supernatant or water. The results showed that, after treatment, the paper showed a significantly low extent of fungal colonization and high tensile strength, and maintained the same colour before and after treatment. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the decoloured C3 supernatant inhibits fungal growth on types of paper commonly used in books. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY Decoloured C3 supernatant could be used as a preventive agent to protect books and other paper-based items against fungal growth.

The major fungal phyla have independently and repeatedly evolved the ability to overcome the insect defense system, which is usually highly effective against fungal attack. During the genomic era of the last decade, extensive progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of interactions between insects and their fungal pathogens, particularly Metarhizium spp., the focus of this article. New models of pathogenesis have been designed, new biological phenomena have been discovered, and a plethora of new molecules and functions have been determined that are crucial for successful establishment of fungal disease by permitting: attachment to the insect surface; germination and formation of infection structures; penetration of the host; colonization of host tissue; and sporulation on cadavers. Genomic technologies in particular are producing breakthroughs in some of the more intractable aspects of this field, e.g. evolution of host specificity.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the natural durability of wood submitted to heat treatments and exposed in a field environment. Were used Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus taeda species, being selected five trees selected for each species studied, which were unfolded, dried in a conventional drying kiln, and later submitted to the heat treatments using temperatures of 140 and 160 oC. Subsequently 75 specimens of each species were prepared, which were tested in the field during six months of exposure, and the evaluations of the samples occurring every 40 days. The evaluation included the analysis of climatic variables, potential of fungal attack and the mass loss (%) of the woods, being the statistical analysis of the data by ANOVA for mass loss (%), in a completely randomized design with triple factorial arrangement, for the factor specie in two levels, factor thermal treatment in tree levels (control, 140 and 160 oC) and time of exposure in five levels (40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 days of exposure). Eucalyptus and pine treated at 160 oC presented respectively the highest and lowest resistance to mass loss. All woods are classified by the average values as very resistant.

Wood is among the most decay-resistant cellulosic materials; however, all organics eventually succumb to decay. Understanding the degradation process is important when considering how products perform, but this knowledge can also be useful when determining how climates affect the organisms involved and the rates at which degradation occurs. Above ground wood decay tends to occur more slowly than decay in direct soil contact and is more dependent on climatic differences and wood species chemistries. While above ground wood deterioration is a subject of interest, most research has concentrated on the effects of the organisms on the wood. There are surprisingly few comprehensive studies of the fungi involved in the process and most have been performed under aggressive tropical conditions. Fungal colonization of red alder and Douglas-fir samples exposed above ground was evaluated over a 24-month period. Red alder is highly susceptible to fungal attack while Douglas-fir is moderately resistant. As such, they presented two differing selective media for fungal colonization. Red alder was more heavily colonized than Douglas-fir, reflecting the differing susceptibility of the two wood species to degradation. A similar number of Ascomycete and Basidiomycete species were isolated (11 vs 8 species, respectively), but Basidiomycetes were more frequently isolated. These results were similar to those found under more tropical conditions. The results illustrate the wide range of species that colonize wood exposed above ground.

The relationship between extractives content and resistance to fungal attack was examined in heartwood samples of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) collected from across the growing range. Mass losses of juniper samples exposed to Trametes versicolor were generally low and indicated that this species would be classified as highly durable, while mass losses for samples exposed to Gloeophyllum trabeum were higher and suggested that juniper heartwood was slightly less resistant to this fungus. Extractives levels were generally poorly correlated with decay resistance, but there were substantial differences in extractives content between samples from different geographic areas. The results suggest the need for further evaluation of a wider range of samples to better determine the relationship between extractives and decay resistance.

Phytopathogenic fungi cause over 75% of all plant diseases. Plants perceive these invaders as ‘nonself ’ via race-specific/nonspecific factors and surmount physical and chemical responses to counter the invasion. Race-specific recognition is generally followed by the rapid and massive induction of many of these responses resulting in resistance. Keywords: plant defence; fungal resistance; R gene signalling; plant–fungus interaction; innate immunity

The potential for polyurea coatings to improve wood crossarm performance was assessed on untreated and treated Douglas-fir exposed to termite/fungal attack in Hawaii. Treated materials performed similarly regardless of coating, although coating reduced UV damage. Untreated non-coated timbers were decayed within 2-years of exposure and were unserviceable after 7 years. Upper surfaces of coated, untreated samples experienced pronounced coating loss and contained advanced decay on the undersides of the timbers, but no decay occurred on coated, treated samples. Decay fungi were isolated from treated and non-treated coated arms, but isolation frequency was greater for non-treated materials. Coating thickness declined on both treated and non-treated materials, but the effects were greater on non-treated samples. Termites did not attack treated samples with or without coating, but destroyed untreated, non-coated samples and penetrated the polyurea coating to destroy untreated and borate dipped Douglas-fi...

The natural durability of five Cameroonians wood samples was evaluated using the European standard EN 350-1 with a slight modification. The capacity of extracts to inhibit the fungal growth was evaluated at different concentrations with propiconazole (a commercial fungicide for wood) as standard. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of wood blocks was carried out before and after extraction in different solvents. Unextracted and extracted wood blocks were exposed to fungal attack, with beech as a reference wood. Results showed that mass losses of non-extracted samples ranged from 0.1 to 59% and those of extracted samples from 3% to 40%. Before extraction, all wood samples under study were classified as very resistant to fungi attack (class 1) with respect to the standard. After extraction, some of the wood samples became vulnerable to fungal attack. Movingui, padouk, and tali became less resistant to fungi attack (class 3). The SEM of wood revealed that the extractives were removed from the fibres. The effect of extractives on fungal growth showed that extracts weakly inhibited fungal growth up to concentrations of 250 μg/mL but extracts of tali and movingui totally inhibited fungal growth at a concentration of 500 μg/mL.

[ES] El presente Trabajo Final de Máster aborda los estudios y procedimientos conservativos llevados a cabo en una Mustela frenata momificada de la cultura Tiahuanaco de Bolivia, perteneciente al Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Valencia, en cuyos almacenes se hallaba conservada. El trabajo se aborda en dos partes, ya que se pretende llevar a cabo una investigación multidisciplinar, teniendo en cuenta tanto el campo biológico como el conservativo. El estudio biológico comienza con la identificación del hongo presente en parte de la superficie de la piel de la Mustela frenata, evaluando posteriormente una selección de diferentes aceites esenciales con poder antifúngico para decidir cuál es el más idóneo para su eliminación. Estas prácticas son de gran ayuda en el campo biológico-científico, como indispensables para la selección de los tratamientos de conservación alternativos que hagan uso de productos más verdes, sostenibles e innovadores para salvaguardar el medio ambiente y que fundamentan la metodología para la correcta eliminación del hongo., [EN] This Master's Final Project deals with the conservative studies and procedures carried out in a mummified Mustela frenata of the Tiahuanaco culture of Bolivia, belonging to the Museum of Natural Sciences of Valencia, in whose warehouses it was preserved. The work is approached in two parts, since it is intended to carry out a multidisciplinary investigation, taking into account both the biological and the conservative field. The biological study begins with the identification of the fungus present in part of the skin surface of the Mustela frenata, subsequently evaluating a selection of different oils essentials with antifungal power to decide which is the most suitable for its elimination. These practices are of great help in the biological-scientific field, as indispensable for the selection of alternative conservation treatments that make use of greener, sustainable and innovative products to safeguard the environment and that base the methodology for the correct elimination of the fungus.

The major Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTD) gather diseases associated with either one particular fungal species, e.g., eutypiose, or with fungal species complexes, e.g., Botryosphaeriae dieback. GTD-associated fungi are part of different fungal classes, depending on their substrate degradation mechanisms or on their lifestyles. They are identified in grapevine wood and they lead to wood typical symptoms. They are sometimes associated to foliar symptoms too, despite not found in aerial parts, probably acting through fungal toxins or through physiological disorders, such as non-functional wood vessels. Grapevine is a liana, and as such shows structural and chemical differences compared to forest tree wood. However, knowledge on wood-degrading fungi growing on tree wood can contribute to a better understanding of grapevine wood adaptation mechanisms to fungal attack. For example, wood density, xylem vessels size and number, or lignin content and composition can play a role in wood sensitivity to fungi. Also, some fungal detoxification mechanisms against wood extractibles are host-specific. In a first part of this chapter, structure and chemical composition of grapevine wood are described, pointing out properties that might play a role in fungal growth. In a second part, GTD main associated fungi and their known mechanisms for wood degradation or wood chemical detoxification are discussed. Extracellular and intracellular enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms are considered. These mechanisms, well described for their role in fungal adaptation to tree wood, have been much less studied for GTD associated fungi. Further studies about those mechanisms would contribute to understand fungal adaptation to grapevine.

Climate change is expected to accelerate the microbial degradation of the many extraordinary well-preserved organic archaeological deposits found in the Arctic. This could potentially lead to a major loss of wooden artefacts that are still buried within the region. Here, we carry out the first large-scale investigation of wood degradation within archaeological deposits in the Arctic. This is done based on wooden samples from 11 archaeological sites that are located along a climatic gradient in Western Greenland. Our results show that Ascomycota fungi are causing extensive soft rot decay at all sites regardless of climate and local environment, but the group is diverse and many of the species were only found once. Cadophora species known to cause soft rot in polar environments were the most abundant Ascomycota found and their occurrence in native wood samples underlines that they are present locally. Basidiomycota fungi were also present at all sites. In the majority of samples, however, these aggressive and potentially very damaging wood degraders have caused limited decay so far, probably due to unfavorable growth conditions. The presence of these wood degrading fungi suggests that archaeological wooden artefacts may become further endangered if climate change leads to more favorable growth conditions.

The toxicity of arsenic compounds has meant that uncontrolled exposure to them raises issues of industrial health and safety and environmental contamination. Deployed under controlled conditions, however, arsenic compounds have been used to improve human health through control of syphilis (Salvarsan) and general well-being (Fowler’s solution) and, more recently, for treatment of some cancers. Animal health has been improved, too, by the use of arsenicals to treat parasites, crops have been protected from insect pests, and biological materials in museum and other collections have been preserved from insect and fungal attack. In some case, widespread dispersion of arsenical biocides has left a legacy of environmental contamination.

The problems which affect seed germination of D.melanoxylon in the natural environment are also reflected on germination in the Murashige and Skoog medium and in callus induction. Vulnerability to fungal attack is a limitation for successful callus induction and germination in the culture room.

Ionic liquids represent a class of highly versatile organic compounds used extensively in the last decade for lignocellulose biomass fractionation and dissolution, as well as property modifiers for wood materials. This review is dedicated to the use of ionic liquids as antifungal agents for wood preservation. Wood preservation against fungal attack represents a relatively new domain of application for ionic liquids, emerging in the late 1990s. Comparing to other application domains of ionic liquids, this particular one has been relatively little researched. Ionic liquids may be promising as wood preservatives due to their ability to swell wood, which translates into better penetration ability and fixation into the bulk of the wood material than other conventional antifungal agents, avoiding leaching over time. The antifungal character of ionic liquids depends on the nature of their alkyl-substituted cation, on the size and position of their substituents, and of their anion. It pertains to a large variety of wood-colonizing fungi, both Basidiomycetes and Fungiimperfecti.

In this research, acetylated wood (Accoya) was tested in ground contact in central Greece. After ten years of exposure during a ground stake test, acetylated pine wood (Pinus radiata) stakes, with a 20% acetyl weight gain, were completely intact and showed no visual decay (decay rating: 0). However, the key mechanical properties of Accoya wood, that is, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) after 10 years of ground contact, were significantly reduced by 32.8% and 29.6%, respectively, despite an excellent visual result since no evidence of fungal attack was identified. This contradiction could possibly indicate that the hallmarks of decay, i.e., brown-rot decay of acetylated wood can be the significant loss of mechanical properties before decay is actually visible.

The wood preservation industry has depended on toxicity as a mechanism of effectiveness against decay fungi to extend the life of wood used in adverse conditions. An alternative to toxicity, however, is to study and understand the mechanism of fungal attack and stop it before it can start. Knowing that fungi need moisture for colonization, a new approach to wood preservation is to lower the cell wall moisture content below that needed for fungal attack. Acetylation chemistry is known to reduce the moisture content in the cell wall, and it was used to study moisture levels in the bulk cell wall and in the isolated cell wall polymers. Resistance to brown-rot was determined using a 12-week soil block test with Gloeophyllum trabeum. Weight loss was measured and an analysis of what was lost was determined.

Unfinished interior wood members in wooden cultural heritages undergo severe discoloration by fungal attack during the summer rainy season. The prevention of fungal discoloration is crucial in the conservation of wooden cultural heritages. It is important to investigate discoloration properties of major mold and stain fungi under different relative humidity conditions to prevent discoloration damage. Among the 54 ascomycetes isolated from wooden cultural heritages in Korea, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Coniochaeta velutina, and Graphiopsis chlorocephala were selected as test fungi because of their particularly strong discoloration intensity on wood. For each fungal species, the minimum relative humidity and exposure period for discoloration were investigated. It was found that A. pullulans and Cl. cladosporioides started to grow and discolor at 75% relative humidity within 3 weeks to 4 weeks, and Co. velutina and G. chlorocephala grew and discolored at relative humidity values greater than 95%. Therefore, the prevention of fungal discoloration of interior wood members by A. pullulans and Cl. cladosporioides for the proper conservation of wooden cultural heritages can be achieved by maintaining an indoor relative humidity of 75% or less during the summer rainy season.

Microbial growth on the basis of the oxidation of organic environmental pollutants is commonly hampered if these (1) are only poorly water-soluble or practically insoluble in water (e.g. solid synthetic polymers like plastics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), (2) occur only in trace concentrations (e.g. the so-called micropollutants), or (3) are already highly oxidised, thus providing only little energy to potential degrader organisms (e.g. certain highly chlorinated organic compounds). Cometabolism, which is prominent in fungi, enables to attack environmental pollutants without the need for utilising them as growth substrates. This chapter presents and discusses fungal cometabolic and productive degradation capabilities with regard to the biocatalytic breakdown of different environmental pollutant groups, which share the common characteristic of representing only poor substrates for microbial growth, from a biochemical, eco-physiological, evolutionary, and biotechnological perspective.

Endophytes including bacteria and fungi have the ability to colonize internal plant tissues and live in association with their respective hosts without causing any disease symptoms. Interactions between the two partners depend on genetic dispositions, their developmental stage, nutritional status, and environmental factors. Endophytes, therefore, may represent an eco-friendly option to mitigate biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. Endophytes have been associated with the production of secondary metabolites that may confer environmental advantages to the host, increasing its adaptability and may benefit the host plants concerning better tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the colonization of endophytes may overcome obstacles, and plants have developed several mechanisms to counteract the fungal attack, including the synthesis of defensive phytochemicals. Some endophytes appear to possess the ability to manipulate host plant metabolism, and during the coevolution with plants, microorganisms developed the strategy to inject effectors into plants in order to suppress the host resistance. In response, plants have developed receptors that recognize the pathogens effectors. The endophytic strategies used to colonize the plant, and the host responses will be approached here. Thus endophytes may be a rich and reliable biological source of active compounds with potential benefits in medicinal, industrial, and mainly agricultural applications. Therefore it is important to explore and understand such endophytic-host interactions to achieve a possible environmental sustainability in the future.