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Root Engineering pp 193–201Cite as

Functions of Root Fungal Endophytes

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Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 40))

Abstract

Diverse groups of endophytic fungi are known to inhabit plant roots. These endophytic fungi interact with the plant roots symbiotically carrying out functions important for the plant’s life. They impart health benefits to the plant, e.g., growth promotion, increase in productivity, and fitness benefits, e.g., biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. These fungi help in nutrient acquisition by the roots and also interact with other microflora in the rhizosphere. In this chapter, we discuss a case study where the pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) seeds were treated with fungal endophytes isolated from the roots of the vegetation from Bhuj, a salt desert in India, in combination with a known endophytic fungus, Piriformospora indica.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to National Fund, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Government of India (No. NFBSFARA/GB-2016) for partial financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, UP, India

    K. Sowjanya Sree, Manjita Mishra, Aditya Saran & Ajit Varma

  2. Mycology and Plant Pathology Group, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India

    S. K. Singh

  3. Prathista Industries Limited, Secunderabad, AP, India

    R. K. Sharma & K. V. S. S. Ram

Authors
  1. K. Sowjanya Sree
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  2. Manjita Mishra
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  3. Aditya Saran
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  4. S. K. Singh
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  5. R. K. Sharma
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  6. K. V. S. S. Ram
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  7. Ajit Varma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ajit Varma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain

    Asunción Morte

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Sowjanya Sree, K. et al. (2014). Functions of Root Fungal Endophytes. In: Morte, A., Varma, A. (eds) Root Engineering. Soil Biology, vol 40. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54276-3_9

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