Application endophytic microorganisms in agriculture and production of substances of economic interest <br> Aplicação de microrganismos endofíticos na agricultura e na produção de substâncias de interesse econômico

• Main Authors: Taides Tavares dos Santos, Maurilio Antonio Varavallo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Londrina 2011-12-01
• Series: Semina : Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde
• Subjects: Bactérias endofíticas; Controle biológico; Fungos endofíticos; Promoção de crescimento de plantas; Substâncias de interesse econômico.
• Online Access: http://www.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/seminabio/article/view/8241
• ISSN: 1676-5435; 1679-0367

Endophytic microorganisms are mainly fungi and bacteria that live inside plants, generally inhabiting aerial parts such as leaves and stems, without causing any apparent damage to their hosts. In addition to many important functions for the host, the endophytic microorganisms are potentially useful in agriculture and industry, especially in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. By forming themselves into substitutes for chemicals by exercising stock biocontrol and/or promotion of plant growth, favoring theenvironmental preservation, has been appointed as a viable alternative agricultural production systems for environmentally and economically sustainable. Obtaining substances of economic interest, such as enzymes, antibiotics and other drugs from endophytic microorganisms has often been reported in the scientific literature. One example is taxol, a powerful anti-cancer substance that was previously obtained only from the exploitation of the plant Taxus brevifolia, and can now be obtained from different genera of endophytic fungi. Advances like this reinforce the great biotechnological potential of such microorganisms. This study presents an overview of potential applications of endophyticmicroorganisms in agriculture and production of substances of economic interest.