As mycorrhizal fungi, endophytic fungi are ubiquitous in natural forest ecosystems. A great number of foliar endophytic fungi (FEFs) have been isolated from leaves of forest trees, and some metabolites are also isolated and characterized from the FEFs. These metabolites show strong potential to inhibit or kill insects and pathogenic fungi, especially those causing decline or damage of forest trees. In addition, FEFs can inhabit in leaf litter for a short or long period depending on endophytic species, thus they affect decomposition rate of leaf litter. Some FEFs can colonize in plant roots and promote plant growth. In the review, we provide an overview of the ecological roles of FEFs and hope the resources of FEFs can be developed and be used in forestry and agriculture to reduce use of insectcides and fungicides and in pharmacology to maintain human health.

中文翻译：

---

叶内生真菌：森林生态系统中物种和功能的多样性

作为菌根真菌，内生真菌在天然森林生态系统中无处不在。从森林树木的叶子中已经分离出大量的叶内生真菌（FEF），并且还从FEF中分离并鉴定了一些代谢物。这些代谢物显示出强大的抑制或杀死昆虫和病原真菌的潜力，尤其是那些引起森林树木衰退或破坏的昆虫和病原真菌。另外，根据内生菌种的不同，FEFs可以在叶片中短期或长期栖息，因此会影响叶片的分解速率。一些FEF可在植物根部定植并促进植物生长。在评论中