Portraying Fungal Mechanisms in Stress Tolerance: Perspective for Sustainable Agriculture

Environmental stresses adversely affect plant growth and have a major impact on agricultural production worldwide. Different strategies, namely, molecular, physiological, and agronomical methods were employed to confer stress tolerance to plants, plant–microbe associations being one of the key explored areas. Among plant-associated fungal communities, fungal endophyte and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi comprise the beneficial fungi that improve plant growth and productivity. A better understanding of the functional dynamics and how the fungal communities confer beneficial traits to plants would be an ideal platform for enhancing crop productivity and a more sustainable agriculture. Highlighting the emerging importance of plant-associated fungal communities and their multifaceted beneficial role in the ecosystem, this chapter extensively discusses the functional dynamics of the fungal communities in conferring stress tolerance and promoting plant growth. With a brief overview of the composition of fungal microbiomes and their mutualistic association with higher plants, a better understanding of how these microbial communities confer beneficial traits to plants is essential to increase crop productivity and sustainable agriculture.