Volatile hydrocarbons from endophytic fungi and their efficacy in fuel production and disease control

• Main Author: B. Shankar Naik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2018-08-01
• Series: Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control
• Subjects: Endophytic fungi; Biocontrol; Biofuel; Mycodiesel; Volatile organic compounds
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41938-018-0072-x

Abstract Endophytic fungi are the microorganisms which asymptomatically colonize internal tissues of plant roots and shoots. Endophytes produce a broad spectrum of odorous compounds with different physicochemical and biological properties that make them useful in both industry and agriculture. Many endophytic fungi are known to produce a wide spectrum of volatile organic compounds with high densities, which include terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, quinines, cyclohexanes, and hydrocarbons. Many of these compounds showed anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-neoplastic, anti-leishmanial and anti-proliferative activities, cytotoxicity, and fuel production. In this review, the role of volatile compounds produced by fungal endophytes in fuel production and their potential application in biological control is discussed.