A Review: Influence of Symbiotic Fungus Serendipita indica on Plant Growth and Yield in Cereal Crop under Abiotic Stress

Serendipita indica is a cultivable endophyte that holds a broad host spectrum and possesses exceptional multifunctional capabilities to promote plant performance by enhancing growth, protection and stress tolerance. S. indica confers resistance to heavy metals, toxins and pathogens, it acts as a biopesticide, bioprotectant and biofertilizer by enhancing secondary metabolite production which results in early seed germination and flowering. This easily cultivable fungus shows beneficial plant-microbe interaction and acts as a powerful tool in improving plant growth by combatting environmental stresses. Symbiotic association of S. indica, with cereal crops helps plants to develop a variety of defence mechanisms by causing major morphological and physiological changes which promote plant growth and confers resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Heavy metal, drought, and salinity stress are among the severe environmental constraints to our modern agriculture which badly affect crop productivity in terms of growth and yield. To deal with such abiotic stress, this fungus helps plants to undergo host-specific modulations including gene alteration, activation of antioxidant activities, changes in photosynthetic activities, formation of rhizosheath, etc. for an enhancement in yield and growth of the plant. The current study exploited the effectiveness of S. indica against abiotic stress to ameliorate tolerance in plants.