and Differentially Regulate Maize Resistance to Anthracnose Leaf Blight and Insect Herbivores When Grown in Sterile versus Non-Sterile Soils.

Soil-borne spp. have been extensively studied for their biocontrol activities against pathogens and growth promotion ability in plants. However, the beneficial effect of on inducing resistance against insect herbivores has been underexplored.

Gliotoxin, an Immunosuppressive Fungal Metabolite, Primes Plant Immunity: Evidence from -Tomato Interaction.

Beneficial interaction of members of the fungal genus with plant roots primes the plant immune system, promoting systemic resistance to pathogen infection. Some strains of produce gliotoxin, a fungal epidithiodioxopiperazine (ETP)-type secondary metabolite that is toxic to animal cells. It induces apoptosis, prevents NF-κB activation via the inhibition of the proteasome, and has immunosuppressive properties.

Adhesion as a Focus in Trichoderma-Root Interactions.

Fungal spores, germlings, and mycelia adhere to substrates, including host tissues. The adhesive forces depend on the substrate and on the adhesins, the fungal cell surface proteins. Attachment is often a prerequisite for the invasion of the host, hence its importance.

Early Transcriptome Response of to Colonization of Maize Roots.

is a well-known mycoparasitic fungal symbiont that is valued for its biocontrol capabilities. initiates a symbiotic relationship with a plant host through the colonization of its roots. To achieve colonization, the fungus must communicate with the host and evade its innate defenses.

Deletion of the Trichoderma virens NRPS, Tex7, induces accumulation of the anti-cancer compound heptelidic acid.

The anticancer antibiotic heptelidic acid is a sesquiterpene lactone produced by the beneficial plant fungus Trichoderma virens. This species has been separated into two strains, referred to as P and Q, based on its biosynthesis of secondary metabolites; notably, only P-strains were reported to produce heptelidic acid. While characterizing a Q-strain of T.

Oxylipins Other Than Jasmonic Acid Are Xylem-Resident Signals Regulating Systemic Resistance Induced by in Maize.

Multiple long-distance signals have been identified for pathogen-induced systemic acquired resistance, but mobile signals for symbiont-induced systemic resistance (ISR) are less well understood. We used ISR-positive and -negative mutants of maize () and the beneficial fungus and identified 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (12-OPDA) and α-ketol of octadecadienoic acid (KODA) as important ISR signals. We show that a maize 13-lipoxygenase mutant, , colonized by the wild-type (TvWT) lacked ISR response against but instead displayed induced systemic susceptibility.

Effects on hyphal morphology and development by the putative copper radical oxidase glx1 in Trichoderma virens suggest a novel role as a cell wall associated enzyme.

Trichoderma spp. have been characterized for their capacity to act as biological control agents against several pathogens through the activity of secondary metabolites and cell wall degrading enzymes. However, only T.

Differential expression analysis of Trichoderma virens RNA reveals a dynamic transcriptome during colonization of Zea mays roots.

Background: Trichoderma spp. are majorly composed of plant-beneficial symbionts widely used in agriculture as bio-control agents. Studying the mechanisms behind Trichoderma-derived plant benefits has yielded tangible bio-industrial products.

Analysis of a putative glycosylation site in the Trichoderma virens elicitor SM1 reveals no role in protein dimerization.

The biocontrol fungus Trichoderma virens is an avirulent symbiont with the ability to control plant disease through the production of antibiotic compounds, induction of plant resistance to pathogens, and mycoparasitism of other fungi. Previous research has shown that resistance to plant pathogens in maize is induced by the secretion of a member of the cerato-platanin family of proteins, sm1, and that only the monomer of this protein has this activity. It has been hypothesized that glycosylation of sm1 disrupts dimer formation and keeps sm1 in this active monomer form.

Ferricrocin, the intracellular siderophore of Trichoderma virens, is involved in growth, conidiation, gliotoxin biosynthesis and induction of systemic resistance in maize.

Fungal siderophores are known to be involved in iron acquisition and storage, as well as pathogenicity of mammals and plants. As avirulent plant symbionts, Trichoderma spp. colonize roots and induce resistance responses both locally and systemically.

A paralog of the proteinaceous elicitor SM1 is involved in colonization of maize roots by Trichoderma virens.

The biocontrol agent, Trichoderma virens, has the ability to protect plants from pathogens by eliciting plant defense responses, involvement in mycoparasitism, or secreting antagonistic secondary metabolites. SM1, an elicitor of induced systemic resistance (ISR), was found to have three paralogs within the T. virens genome.

Secretome of Trichoderma interacting with maize roots: role in induced systemic resistance.

Trichoderma virens is a biocontrol agent used in agriculture to antagonize pathogens of crop plants. In addition to direct mycoparasitism of soil-borne fungal pathogens, T. virens interacts with roots.

Host-specific transcriptomic pattern of Trichoderma virens during interaction with maize or tomato roots.

Background: Members of the fungal genus Trichoderma directly antagonize soil-borne fungal pathogens, and an increasing number of species are studied for their potential in biocontrol of plant pathogens in agriculture. Some species also colonize plant roots, promoting systemic resistance. The Trichoderma-root interaction is hosted by a wide range of plant species, including monocots and dicots.

Role of gliotoxin in the symbiotic and pathogenic interactions of Trichoderma virens.

Using a gene disruption strategy, we generated mutants in the gliP locus of the plant-beneficial fungus Trichoderma virens that were no longer capable of producing gliotoxin. Phenotypic assays demonstrated that the gliP-disrupted mutants grew faster, were more sensitive to oxidative stress and exhibited a sparse colony edge compared with the WT strain. In a plate confrontation assay, the mutants deficient in gliotoxin production were ineffective as mycoparasites against the oomycete, Pythium ultimum, and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, but retained mycoparasitic ability against Rhizoctonia solani.

Trichoderma research in the genome era.

Trichoderma species are widely used in agriculture and industry as biopesticides and sources of enzymes, respectively. These fungi reproduce asexually by production of conidia and chlamydospores and in wild habitats by ascospores. Trichoderma species are efficient mycoparasites and prolific producers of secondary metabolites, some of which have clinical importance.

A putative terpene cyclase, vir4, is responsible for the biosynthesis of volatile terpene compounds in the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma virens.

A putative terpene cyclase vir4, which is a member of a secondary metabolite cluster, has been deleted in Trichoderma virens to determine its function. The deletion mutants were compared for volatile production with the wild-type as well as two other Trichoderma spp. This gene cluster was originally predicted to function in the synthesis of viridin and viridiol.

Functional analysis of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) in Trichoderma virens reveals a polyketide synthase (PKS)/NRPS hybrid enzyme involved in the induced systemic resistance response in maize.

Trichoderma virens genome harbours genes encoding 22 non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) with at least one complete module (containing adenylation, thiolation and condensation domains) and four PKS/NRPS (polyketide synthase/NRPS) hybrid enzymes. After a primary screen for expression of these 26 genes when mycelia of T. virens are in contact with maize roots, seven genes that are upregulated were selected for further study.

Secondary metabolism in Trichoderma--a genomic perspective.

Trichoderma spp. are a rich source of secondary metabolites (SMs). The recent publication of the genome sequences of three Trichoderma spp.

Trichoderma: the genomics of opportunistic success.

Trichoderma is a genus of common filamentous fungi that display a remarkable range of lifestyles and interactions with other fungi, animals and plants. Because of their ability to antagonize plant-pathogenic fungi and to stimulate plant growth and defence responses, some Trichoderma strains are used for biological control of plant diseases. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in molecular ecology and genomics which indicate that the interactions of Trichoderma spp.

Comparative genome sequence analysis underscores mycoparasitism as the ancestral life style of Trichoderma.

Background: Mycoparasitism, a lifestyle where one fungus is parasitic on another fungus, has special relevance when the prey is a plant pathogen, providing a strategy for biological control of pests for plant protection. Probably, the most studied biocontrol agents are species of the genus Hypocrea/Trichoderma.

Results: Here we report an analysis of the genome sequences of the two biocontrol species Trichoderma atroviride (teleomorph Hypocrea atroviridis) and Trichoderma virens (formerly Gliocladium virens, teleomorph Hypocrea virens), and a comparison with Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina).

Silencing GhNDR1 and GhMKK2 compromises cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt.

Cotton is an important cash crop worldwide, and is a significant source of fiber, feed, foodstuff, oil and biofuel products. Considerable effort has been expended to increase sustainable yield and quality through molecular breeding and genetic engineering of new cotton cultivars. Given the recent availability of the whole-genome sequence of cotton, it is necessary to develop molecular tools and resources for large-scale analysis of gene functions at the genome-wide level.

Two classes of new peptaibols are synthesized by a single non-ribosomal peptide synthetase of Trichoderma virens.

Peptaibols are a group of small peptides having a high α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) content and produced by filamentous fungi, especially by the members of the genus Trichoderma (anamorph Hypocrea). These antibiotics are economically important for their anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties as well as ability to induce systemic resistance in plants against microbial invasion. In this study we present sequences of two classes (11-residue and 14-residue) of peptaibols produced by the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma virens.

Functional characterization of a plant-like sucrose transporter from the beneficial fungus Trichoderma virens. Regulation of the symbiotic association with plants by sucrose metabolism inside the fungal cells.

• Sucrose exuded by plants into the rhizosphere is a crucial component for the symbiotic association between the beneficial fungus Trichoderma and plant roots. In this article we sought to identify and characterize the molecular basis of sucrose uptake into the fungal cells. • Several bioinformatics tools enabled us to identify a plant-like sucrose transporter in the genome of Trichoderma virens Gv29-8 (TvSut).

Expression and purification of biologically active Trichoderma virens proteinaceous elicitor Sm1 in Pichia pastoris.

The beneficial fungus Trichoderma virens secretes a small cysteine-rich protein (Sm1) that induces defense responses in dicot and monocot plants and is a member of the cerato-platanin family. Purification of Sm1 from T. virens results in low protein yield limiting the application of this protein for crop disease protection to small-scale assays.