Comparative Phenotypic, Genomic, and Transcriptomic Analyses of Two Contrasting Strains of the Plant Beneficial Fungus .

Trichoderma virens is a beneficial fungus that helps plants fight pathogens and abiotic stresses and thereby enhances crop yields. Unlike other spp., there are two well-defined strains (P and Q) of T.

Physiological responses of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings to the interaction between Suillus luteus and Trichoderma virens.

The effects of the interaction between Suillus luteus (L.) Roussel and Trichoderma virens (J.H.

Trichoderma-plant root colonization: escaping early plant defense responses and activation of the antioxidant machinery for saline stress tolerance.

Trichoderma spp. are versatile opportunistic plant symbionts which can colonize the apoplast of plant roots. Microarrays analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana roots inoculated with Trichoderma asperelloides T203, coupled with qPCR analysis of 137 stress responsive genes and transcription factors, revealed wide gene transcript reprogramming, proceeded by a transient repression of the plant immune responses supposedly to allow root colonization.

The LysM receptor-like kinase LysM RLK1 is required to activate defense and abiotic-stress responses induced by overexpression of fungal chitinases in Arabidopsis plants.

Application of crab shell chitin or pentamer chitin oligosaccharide to Arabidopsis seedlings increased tolerance to salinity in wild-type but not in knockout mutants of the LysM Receptor-Like Kinase1 (CERK1/LysM RLK1) gene, known to play a critical role in signaling defense responses induced by exogenous chitin. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the endochitinase chit36 and hexoaminidase excy1 genes from the fungus Trichoderma asperelleoides T203 showed increased tolerance to salinity, heavy-metal stresses, and Botrytis cinerea infection. Resistant lines, overexpressing fungal chitinases at different levels, were outcrossed to lysm rlk1 mutants.

Plant-beneficial effects of Trichoderma and of its genes.

Trichoderma (teleomorph Hypocrea) is a fungal genus found in many ecosystems. Trichoderma spp. can reduce the severity of plant diseases by inhibiting plant pathogens in the soil through their highly potent antagonistic and mycoparasitic activity.