Endophytic Microbes, Evolution and Diversification of

Endophytes are universally present in plants in natural situations. Recent research has demonstrated that endophytes form communities in plants and positively affect ecological fitness of host plants. The ecological diversity, biology, and evolutionary development of two ecological classes of microbial endophytes are discussed. A mechanism for how plants regulate microbial endophyte communities within their tissues is proposed to involve organic acids and other plant-produced secondary metabolites.