Role of Endophytes in Agricultural Crops Under Drought Stress: Current and Future Prospects

Abstract

Endophytic bacteria are coming in class of endosymbiotic microorganisms extensive among plants that colonize inner spaces of plant cells in all different plants. Endophytes do not cause any plant diseases or any significant morphological changes. Vast diversty of bacterial taxa and plant host associated with this plants and endophytic bacteria. For the period of last decade, new characterisitcs of the microbial diversity have developed with application of novel metagenomic analysis methods in studies of microbial endophytes. Endophytic bacteria are influenced by various environment and genetic conditions such as plant genotype, abiotic and biotic factors, microbe-microbe interactions, plant-microbe interactions. The assorted microbial community of endophytes play essential and exclusive role in the functioning of agrosystem. Plantassociated microbial communities such as plant growth promoting endophytes enhance crop productivity and provide stress resistance. Endophytic bacterial community represents a wide range of producing enzymes and metabolites that help plant to tolerate both biotic and abiotic stresses. Their roles in the management of abiotic stresses such as drought are only establishment to draw an attention. The research concerning bacterialmediated drought tolerance in agricultural crop plants are synthesized here. Physiological traits such as relative water content and photosynthesis are measured in recent studies. Bacterial mediated drought stress tolerance and screening protocols are highlighted in present review.