Volatile Organic Compounds of Endophytic Fungi and Biotechnological Applications

Endophytic fungi live in symbiotic association with plants for at least part of their life. They are potential agents for the production of new and bioactive compounds, as well as for the use in agriculture, medicine and industry. Endophytic fungi produce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are low molecular weight compounds that readily evaporate at normal temperatures and pressures. Fungi are not only capable of producing a wide variety of volatile compounds, they are also able to metabolize them and they have a great importance in chemical ecology. Mixtures of VOCs produced by endophytic fungi are mainly composed by alcohols, aldehydes, esters, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, terpenoids, nitrogen and sulfur compounds. They can be used in biotechnological applications such as biofuels, mycofumigation, alellochemicals, flavor in food and in the chemotaxonomic identification of fungi. The objective of this mini review was to perform a search in the literature on the endophytic fungi producing VOCs and their biotechnological potential.