Insights into taxonomic diversity and bioprospecting potential of Cerrado endophytic fungi: a review exploring an unique Brazilian biome and methodological limitations

Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, and it is known for harboring a wide variety of endemic plant and microbial species, among which are endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi are microorganisms capable of colonizing the interior of plant tissues without causing disease in host plants. Especially in the Cerrado biome, this group of microorganisms is still poorly studied and information on species estimation, ecological and evolutionary importance is not accurate and remains unknown. Also, it is extremely important to emphasize that great part of studies available on Cerrado endophytic fungi are national literature, including master's dissertations, course conclusion works or unpublished doctoral theses. The majority of these studies has highlighted that the endemic plant species are an important habitat for fungal endophytes, and new species have increasingly been described. Due to the lack of international literature on Cerrado endophytic fungi, the present review brings a bibliographic survey on taxonomic diversity and bioprospecting potential of fungal endophytes from a unique environment. This review also emphasizes the importance of studying Brazilian endophytic fungi from Cerrado as a source of new technologies (biofertilizer and biocontroller), since they are secondary metabolite-producing organisms with different biological activities for biotechnological, agricultural and pharmaceutical applications.

Automated summary

Cerrado, the second largest biome in Brazil, harbors a wide variety of endemic plant and microbial species, including endophytic fungi. However, the research on endophytic fungi in this region is still limited, and the knowledge about their species estimation, ecological and evolutionary importance is inaccurate. Studies have shown that the endemic plant species serve as important habitats for fungal endophytes, and new species are continuously being discovered. Due to the lack of international literature, this review provides a bibliographic survey on the taxonomic diversity and bioprospecting potential of fungal endophytes from Cerrado, emphasizing their importance as a source of new technologies.