Promotion of Plant Growth in Arid Zones by Selected Trichoderma spp. Strains with Adaptation Plasticity to Alkaline pH

Abstract

Trichoderma species are filamentous fungi that support plant health and confer improved growth, disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance. The objective of this study is to describe the physiological characteristics of the abundance and structure of Trichoderma model strains from arid zones and evaluate and describe their possible adaptation and modulation in alkaline pH. The presence of biotic factors such as phytopathogens forces farmers to take more actions such as using pesticides. In addition, factors such as the lack of water worldwide lead to losses in agricultural production. Therefore, the search for biocontrol microorganisms that support drought opens the door to the search for variations in the molecular mechanisms involved in these phenomena. In our case, we isolated 11 tested Trichoderma fungal strains from samples collected both from the rhizosphere and roots from two endemic plants. We probed their molecular markers to obtain their identity and assessed their resistance to alkaline conditions, as well as their response to mycoparasitism, plant growth promotion, and drought stress. The findings were worthy of being analyzed in depth. Three fungal taxa/species were grouped by phylogenetic/phenotypic characteristics; three T. harzianum strains showed outstanding capabilities to adapt to alkalinity stress. They also showed antagonistic activity against three phytopathogenic fungi. Additionally, we provided evidence of significant growth promotion in Sorghum bicolor seedlings under endemic agriculture conditions and a reduction in drought damage with Trichoderma infection. Finally, beneficial fungi adapted to specific ambient niches use various molecular mechanisms to survive and modulate their metabolism.

Important soil microbiota's effects on plants and soils: a comprehensive 30-year systematic literature review

“…(4) Some soil fungi can control diseases by producing antibiotics or metabolites harmful to plant pathogens. For example, the Trichoderma genus releases volatile organic compounds that activate the plant's defense mechanism against powdery mildew (Yao et al, 2016 ; Lazazzara et al, 2021 ; Cabral-Miramontes et al, 2022 ). They protect plant health by competing for nutrients with pathogens or inhibiting their growth.…”

In Vitro Assessment of Eight Selected Indigenous Fungal Isolates Tolerance to Various Abiotic Stresses and their Effects on Seed Germination

“…It could be that the metabolism reacts differently to prevent potential hydroxyl ion damage. Furthermore, it had a sparse structure, indicating that it does not cluster to react at excessive nutrient deficiency [ 36 ]. The observed thin and sparsely distributed growth (Fig.…”

Trichoderma and its role in biological control of plant fungal and nematode disease

“…Several experiments have proven that Trichoderma has good biological control effects and can reduce the use of chemical pesticides. However, there are still few biocontrol agents against Trichoderma on the market, and more effective and suitable strains need to be found to join the biocontrol team ( Nieto-Jacobo et al, 2017 ; Fiorentino et al, 2018 ; López et al, 2019 ; Nawrocka et al, 2019 ; Poveda et al, 2019 ; Cabral-Miramontes et al, 2022 ). Although Trichoderma has great prospects for agricultural applications, there are still some problems in the development and utilization of Trichoderma ( Rubio et al, 2014 ; Zhang et al, 2018 ; Phoka et al, 2020 ; Santos et al, 2020 ; Wang H. et al, 2022 ).…”