Role of Endophytes in Abiotic Stress Tolerance: With Special Emphasis on Serendipita indica

Abiotic stresses in soil occur due to high salinity, temperature, drought, heavy metals, and nutrients inhibit the functions of plants and cause a reduction in crop productivity. The common methods of increasing biomass production in agriculture do not align with sustainability. It involves the overuse of chemicals that curb soil fertility and possess many threats to the ecosystem. It is important to find a sustainable method that not only helps to maintain the ecosystem but also increases biomass production. Endophytes are the solution to overcome the tasks faced with the conventional farming; these are environment friendly microbial commodities that colonize the plant tissues without causing any damage. Endophytes rather help in increasing the growth of plants and also helps in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in host plants. This review aims to highlight the importance of fungal endophyte Serendipita indica in plant growth management under abiotic stress conditions in different crops. This is achieved by increasing the systemic resistance, meditation of beneficial metabolites, antioxidant mechanism to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), and modulating the plant hormones. Colonization by endophytic fungi improves uptake of nutrients and maintains ionic homeostasis by controlling ion accumulation, thus limiting the passage of sodium (Na + ) and potassium (K + ) ion ratio in plants and improving gene transcription which plays an essential role in Na + and K + homeostasis. Fungal endophytes are necessary to be sought at all stages to scrutinize their valuable parts in the atmosphere wherever plants are exposed to numerous stresses. This would be authoritative to make globally usage of AMF as a biofertilizer and stress reliever in demand to attain sustainable agriculture creation and assurance of food safekeeping. More research needs consideration on the genetic, biophysiochemical, and molecular mechanisms decisive for stress mitigation in different crops. Article Highlights S. indica association in both achieving new insights into crop protection/improvement as well as in sustainable agriculture production. S.indica improves the morphology and physiology of plant under abiotic stress condition. S. indica ’s research has revealed its potential for application as a plant growth-promoting mycorrhizal fungus for realizing the targeted improvement in the production of crop plants.