Deciphering Trichoderma–Plant–Pathogen Interactions for Better Development of Biocontrol Applications

Abstract

Members of the fungal genus Trichoderma (Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Hypocreaceae) are ubiquitous and commonly encountered as soil inhabitants, plant symbionts, saprotrophs, and mycoparasites. Certain species have been used to control diverse plant diseases and mitigate negative growth conditions. The versatility of Trichoderma’s interactions mainly relies on their ability to engage in inter- and cross-kingdom interactions. Although Trichoderma is by far the most extensively studied fungal biocontrol agent (BCA), with a few species already having been commercialized as bio-pesticides or bio-fertilizers, their wide application has been hampered by an unpredictable efficacy under field conditions. Deciphering the dialogues within and across Trichoderma ecological interactions by identification of involved effectors and their underlying effect is of great value in order to be able to eventually harness Trichoderma’s full potential for plant growth promotion and protection. In this review, we focus on the nature of Trichoderma interactions with plants and pathogens. Better understanding how Trichoderma interacts with plants, other microorganisms, and the environment is essential for developing and deploying Trichoderma-based strategies that increase crop production and protection.

Temperature Differentially Influences the Capacity of Trichoderma Species to Induce Plant Defense Responses in Tomato Against Insect Pests

“…There are various biological products available on the market used for disease and pest control, as well as plant biostimulants and fertilizer/soil enhancers that are based on plant beneficial microbes, such as bacteria [ Bacillus, Pseudomonas (Ferreira et al, 1991 ; Walsh et al, 2001 )] or fungi [ Trichoderma , mycorrhizae , Beauveria (Castillo Lopez and Sword, 2015 ; Rouphael et al, 2015 ; Russo et al, 2015 ; Sinno et al, 2020 )]. Numerous Trichoderma strains are the key components of commercially available microbial biofungicides (Harman et al, 2004 ; Woo et al, 2014 ; Alfiky and Weisskopf, 2021 ; Ferreira and Musumeci, 2021 ; Poveda, 2021 ). Among the 377 Trichoderma species identified, only 20–30 species are found in soils as ecological opportunists saprophytes, associated with the rhizosphere, avirulent to plants, that may be useful in agriculture (Druzhinina et al, 2011 ; Cai and Druzhinina, 2021 ).…”

Trichoderma spp. in Growth Promotion of Jacaranda Mimosifolia D. Don

“…The inoculation of Trichoderma promoted the growth of seedlings of Eucalyptus brassiana and Eucalyptus urophylla (Chagas Júnior et al, 2021). The regulation of plant growth mediated by Trichoderma may come from the ability to modify the environment for establish a prolonged mutualistic association (Alfiky & Weisskopf, 2021). The use of Trichoderma spp.…”

Effects of Trichoderma and Foliar Fertilizer on the Vegetative Growth of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Seedlings

“…Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain growth promotion including the control of minor pathogens, enhanced nutrient uptake, increased carbohydrate metabolism and photosynthesis, and International Journal of Agronomy phytohormone synthesis [23,33,44]. ere is strong evidence for the role for microbe-produced indole acetic acid (IAA), although it is most likely that Trichoderma stimulates growth by influencing the balance of hormones such as IAA, gibberellic acid, and ethylene [45,46]. Furthermore, Trichoderma species promote nutrient uptake by secreting organic acids to dissolve minerals and activate nutrients in the soil, leading to the circulation and utilization of nutrients in the soil [33].…”