Functional mechanism of seed endophytes enhancing heavy metal resistance of host plants: a review

Abstract:

Seed is the reproductive organ of plants, and there are a certain number of endophytes colonized in the seed. The seed endophytes become the earliest colonized microorganisms in the tissue of new plants through vertical propagation, which plays a decisive role in the formation of endophytic community of successive generations of plants, and plays an important role in plant stress resistance. In this paper, the relationship between seed endophytes and heavy metal resistance of host plants and their functional mechanisms are reviewed, and the future research directions are prospected.