United States Department of Agriculture USDA-CSRS. 2001-2002. P.I: María J. Pozo
Trichoderma spp. are filamentous fungi, considered highly effective biocontrol agents. They are ubiquitous in the soil environment and can parasitize a broad range of phytopathogenic fungi such as Rhizoctonia spp, Pythium spp, and Botrytis spp. This mycoparasitic activity is facilitated by antifungal products or secondary metabolites, including toxins, and a battery of lytic enzymes, mainly chitinases, glucanases, and proteases, released in the presence of a suitable host.
In the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Charles Kenerley, at Texas A&M University, within the frame of the project “Genetic improvement of biocontrol agents to manage soilborne plant diseases” from the US Department of Agriculture USDA-CSRS, the role of different lytic enzymes such as proteases and beta-glucanases was assessed by functional genomics. Strains overexpressing the enzymes involved in mycoparasitism were significantly more efficient in the control of root-rot and damping off caused by Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium ultimum (Pozo et al., 2004). The effect of Trichoderma secreted proteins on the plant immune system was also tackled. This research has led to the identification, characterization and purification of a novel fungal elicitor able to induce plant defense resposes (Djonovic et al., 2006).