Endophytic fungi add to plant defences

Abstract

Plants have a battery of physical and chemical defences that enable them to be resistant to herbivores and pathogens. Least understood and probably most effective are the induced compounds that act systemically within the plant. The induced resistance may be long- or short-lived. Some compounds appear to be highly specific, while others have a broad capacity to decrease colonisation by viral, bacterial and fungal invaders. At the same time, apparently benign fungi, known as endophytes, can be isolated from healthy tissues of most plants.