European Journal of Sustainable Agroecosystems

Background: Endophytes are a group of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and infrequently archaea that can attack internal plant tissues without causing noticeable signs of disease. These organisms are characterized by a diverse metabolism and genetic material that supports the growth of plants and protects them from the effects of biotic and abiotic stress. Thus, endophytes represent a perspective direction in the field of sustainable agriculture.

Objective: This article presents an overview of scientific publications for the last ten years in relation to the functional characteristics of endophytic microorganisms utilized in agriculture, with special attention paid to their taxonomical structure, means of promoting plant growth, relieving stress experienced by plants, effect of biocontrol.

Sources: The data was collected by carrying out a systematic search through the literature, including the use of various databases from 2015 to 2025, together with the publications previously published earlier where necessary.

The key points obtained: The most abundant groups in endophytes were determined to be Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria in bacteria, as well as Ascomycota in fungi, with their composition being greatly influenced by host genetics, organ type, and agroecology conditions. In terms of function, endophytes can carry out nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, phytohormones production, siderophore generation, and development of induced systemic resistance as well as secondary metabolites with antibacterial and insecticidal properties. Increasing evidence suggests that they play a huge part in reducing drought, salinity, and heavy metals stress, and biocontrol methods against phytopathogenic fungi have been proven by many studies. By means of metagenomics and high-throughput sequencing process, the state of art in better understanding of those species that could not have been studied on previous occasions has been achieved.

Research: There is a lack of conformity in the protocols for isolating and functioning screening. Field validation has yet to catch up with the lab and greenhouse findings, and our knowledge of multi-partner endophyte host pathogen interactions is still incomplete. The regulation and commercialisation pathways for endophyte bioinoculants remain underdeveloped compared with their scientific groundwork.

Conclusion: The science behind endophytic organisms justifies their use, while they are yet to be used effectively in agriculture. In the future, research in this area should focus on multi-omics integration, synthetic community design, and field validation years after research on this topic in laboratories.