An Endophytic Strain Promotes Growth of Its Hosts and Defends Against Pathogen Attack

Plants host numerous endophytic microbes which promote plant performance, in particular under stress. A new endophytic fungus was isolated from the leaves of a deciduous wood tree Morphological inspection and multilocus phylogeny identified the fungus as a new strain. If applied to and , it mainly colonizes their roots and strongly promotes initial growth of the plants on soil. The fungus grows on high NaCl or mannitol concentrations, and shows predatory capability on the pathogenic fungus . Colonized plants tolerate higher salt stress and show lower spread in roots and shoots, while arbuscular mycorrhiza formation in is not affected by the strain. These beneficial features of the novel strain are important prerequisites for agricultural applications.