An endophyte from salt-adapted Pokkali rice confers salt-tolerance to a salt-sensitive rice variety and targets a unique pattern of genes in its new host.

Endophytes, both of bacterial and fungal origin, are ubiquitously present in all plants. While their origin and evolution are enigmatic, there is burgeoning literature on their role in promoting growth and stress responses in their hosts. We demonstrate that a salt-tolerant endophyte isolated from salt-adapted Pokkali rice, a Fusarium sp.