Endophytes and Their Role in Phytoremediation and Biotransformation Process

This chapter discusses the endophytic bacteria and their role in agriculture. The endophytes help in the plant growth by various mechanisms and also help in disease control. The capability of colonizing internal host tissues of plant has made endophytic bacteria valuable for agriculture to improve crop performance. Various endophytic diazotrophic bacteria colonize primarily the root interior of graminaceous plants. The review also discusses the role of endophytes in phytoremediation and induced systemic resistance. Endophytes have found important role in the production of many bioactive compounds, which have various applications (e.g., antibiotics, antimicrobial compounds). The contributions of this research field will have economic and environmental impacts.