Found in every plant species, the diversity of endophytic micro-organisms can be extremely high within different plant organs and tissue types. In trees, their ecological roles with respect to host tree can vary from latent pathogens or saprophytes to neutral commensalists and mutualists. Given their high diversity, and their bio-active nature, endophytes are currently being associated with a role in tree health against insect herbivores and fungal pathogens, as well as improving tree properties in phytoremediation. Meanwhile there is increasing interest in the potential of some tree endophytes as new sources of drug compounds. The first book on tree endophytes in several years, and containing contributions from leading authors in the field, this book provides an important reference text for professional researchers and advanced students.

Endophytes are commonly known as microorganisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, which live inside plant tissues without inducing symptoms. Considering the long-lived trees, endophytes have a fundamental role in preparing their hosts to face extreme weather conditions, drought, heat, cold, and pathogen and herbivore attacks. The current knowledge clearly demonstrates the importance of endophytes in shaping the plant diversity in a forest. Endophytes have an important capacity for biocontrol of forest diseases. Considering endophyte diversity and the range of various compounds and enzymes they can produce, endophytes can be used for various biotechnological applications.

This book reviews the latest developments in our understanding of microbial endophytes and their potential applications in enhancing productivity and disease protection. It covers all the latest discoveries regarding endophytes, their interactions with plants and application in agricultural productivity and protection. Our understanding of endophytes has increased exponentially in recent decades. These microbes, such as fungi, bacteria, and actinobacteria, establish a symbiotic or parasitic association with plants. A better understanding of endophytic microorganisms may help to elucidate their functions and potential role in developing sustainable systems of crop production and improved protection against biotic stresses. Endophytes play a vital role in plant growth and health promotion. Endophytic bacteria are of agrobiological interest because they create host-endophyte relationships, which can open exciting prospects for newer biotechnological applications. Endophytes have also proven to be a beneficial and sustainable alternative to agrochemicals due to their role in the biocontrol of pests and diseases. Further, endophytes are essential to the production of several secondary metabolites in grasses, in the process of gummosis in trees, and the production of useful metabolites such as alkaloids, pestaloside, cryptocandin, enfumafungin, subglutinols, etc. for the host plant. They are also involved in the production of enzymes, biosurfactants, biocontrol agents and plant growth promoters. As such, it is imperative that we explore these products’ industrial applications in the fields of biotechnology, pharmacy and agriculture. This volume will offers a valuable guidance for botanists, microbiologists, biotechnologists, molecular biologists, environmentalists, policymakers, conservationists, and those working for the protection of plant species of agricultural and medicinal importance.

This is the first book dedicated to the interactions of non-mycorrhizal microbial endophytes with plant roots. The phenotypes of these interactions can be extremely plastic, depending on environmental factors, nutritional status, genetic disposition and developmental stages of the two partners. This book explores diversity, life history strategies, interactions, applications in agriculture and forestry, methods for isolation, cultivation, and both conventional and molecular methods for identification and detection of these endophytes.

Plants are typically colonized by numerous endophyte species symbiotically without any noticeable disease symptoms. These microbes are abundant, diverse and play critical ecological roles across natural and agricultural ecosystems. Endophytes have attracted the attention of researchers due to their various beneficial effects on plants, especially in agricultural crop species. Genomic tools will enhance our understanding on the growth and nutrition requirements of this host-symbiont relationship. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatic pipelines have allowed analyzing the plant microbiome and host-endophyte interaction more effectively with limited bias. Furthermore, various studies have employed and utilized transcriptomic and genomic tools to understand the role of endophytes and their interaction with plant hosts. This electronic book covers various research articles highlighting the important developments on endophytes using transcriptomics, next generation sequencing and genomic tools.

​In recent years there has been significant attention paid on the endophytic research by various groups working within this domain. Mutualistic endophytic microbes with an emphasis on the relatively understudied fungal endophytes are the focus of this special book. Plants are associated with micro-organisms: endophytic bacteria and fungi, which live inter- and intra-cellularly without inducing pathogenic symptoms, but have active biochemical and genetic interactions with their host. Endophytes play vital roles as plant growth promoters, biocontrol agents, biosurfactant producers, enzymes and secondary metabolite producers, as well as providing a new hidden repertoire of bioactive natural products with uses in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and other biotechnological applications. The increasing interest in endophytic research generates significant progress in our understanding of the host-endophyte relationship at molecular and genetic level. The bio-prospection of microbial endophytes has led to exciting possibilities for their biotechnological application as biocontrol agent, bioactive metabolites, and other useful traits. Apart from these virtues, the microbial endophytes may be adapted to the complex metabolism of many desired molecules that can be of significant industrial applications. These microbes can be a useful alternative for sustainable solutions for ecological control of pests and diseases, and can reduce the burden of excess of chemical fertilizers for this purpose. This book is an attempt to review the recent development in the understanding of microbial endophytes and their potential biotechnological applications. This is a collection of literature authored by noted researchers having signatory status in endophytic research and summarizes the development achieved so far, and future prospects for further research in this fascinating area of research.

Forest Microbiology, Volume One: Tree Microbiome: Phyllosphere, Endosphere and Rhizosphere places an emphasis on the microbiology of leaves, needles, stems, roots, litter and soil. This comprehensive title is split into five sections, including the phyllosphere microbiome, endosphere, rhizosphere, archaea, viruses in forest ecosystem and microbiota of forest nurseries and tree pests, challenges and potentials. Microbial communities associated with various host trees and different tree tissues are compared, and generalists and specialists among tree-associated microbes are identified. In addition, biotic and abiotic factors determining the composition and the structure of forest tree microbial communities are presented, along with the concept of microbial 'hubs.' Together, the book's editors have 25 years' worth of experience teaching and conducting research on forest microbiology, making this an essential read for any scientist interested in the forest microbiome. - Addresses the microbiology of living organs of forest trees including needles, leaves, stems and roots - Highlights the potential impact of microbiota inhabiting forest trees on the health and fitness of, and disease progression in, forest biomes - Focuses on the phyllosphere, endosphere and rhizosphere forest microbiome