Haiyan Li
Vijay K. Sharma
George Newcombe
Daniela Barretto Barbosa Trivella
Ravindra Soni

Endophytes are the plant symbionts that live inside the plant tissue without causing any symptoms of disease for a part of their life-cycle. They are an important untapped reservoir of biological resources. They can promote plant growth by improving the physiological and metabolic functions of host plants via nutrient acquisition, nitrogen fixation, phytohormone production, etc., which can be used to promote agricultural yield and food quality. They also have potential applications in enhanced phytoremediation. In addition, endophytes are known to produce various novel antibiotics that can be used in the pharmaceutical, food, and agricultural industries. Functional genomics studies of endophytes provided more information and a better understanding of the network of complex host-endophyte interactions and other associated microbes to harness the biotechnological potential of endophytes more efficiently and sustainably.

The main aim of this Research Topic was to recover the functional role and application of endophytes for agricultural, medicinal, industrial, and environmental purposes. Within this topic, nine articles have been published that complement our knowledge on the occurrence and diversity of endophytes and the role, mechanism, and biotechnological application of endophytes in these fields.