Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins

Zhu, Ruiqing; Li, Ying; Viñas, María; Kong, Qing; Xu, Manlin; Zhang, Xia; Song, Xinying; He, Kang; Guo, Zhiqing

doi:10.3390/jof12010049

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins

by

Ruiqing Zhu

^1,2,3,†,

Ying Li

^1,2,†

,

María Viñas

⁴

,

Qing Kong

³

,

Manlin Xu

^1,2,

Xia Zhang

^1,2,

Xinying Song

^1,2

,

Kang He

^1,2 and

Zhiqing Guo

^1,2,*

¹

Shandong Peanut Research Institute, Qingdao 266100, China

²

National Engineering Research Center for Peanut, Qingdao 266100, China

³

School of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266404, China

⁴

Center for Research in Grains and Seeds (CIGRAS), University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José 11501, Costa Rica

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

J. Fungi 2026, 12(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010049 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 31 October 2025 / Revised: 21 December 2025 / Accepted: 31 December 2025 / Published: 10 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Control of Plant Fungal Pathogens)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

Fusarium spp. cause devastating crop diseases and produce carcinogenic mycotoxins such as fumonisins, threatening global food safety and human health. In this study, Trichoderma longibrachiatum A25011, isolated from apples in Aksu, Xinjiang, exhibited significant antagonistic activity with mycelial growth inhibition rates of 54.52% against F. verticillioides 48.62% against F. proliferatum, and 58.22% against F. oxysporum in confrontation assays. Enzyme activity detection revealed high chitinase (583.21 U/mg protein) and moderate cellulase (43.92 U/mg protein) production, which may have the capacity to degrade fungal cell walls. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) analyses enabled the quantification of fungal hormones including gibberellin A3 (GA3, 2.44 mg/L), cytokinins (cis-zeatin riboside (CZR): 0.69 mg/L; trans-zeatin riboside (TZR) : 0.004 mg/L; kinetin: 0.006 mg/L), and auxins (indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) : 0.35 mg/L; abscisic acid: 0.06 mg/L). Application of a T. longibrachiatum A25011 spore suspension around the roots of peanut plants enhanced growth by 13.20% (height), 5.65% (stem and leaf biomass), and 39.13% (root biomass). Notably, A25011 reduced F. proliferatum-derived fumonisin accumulation in rice-based cultures by 93.58% (6 d) and 99.35% (10 d), suggesting biosynthetic suppression. The results demonstrated that T. longibrachiatum strain A25011 exhibited excellent biocontrol capability against Fusarium spp., proving its dual role in simultaneously suppressing fungal growth and fumonisin accumulation while promoting plant growth. T. longibrachiatum A25011 could be applied as a multifunctional biocontrol agent in sustainable agriculture in the future.

Keywords: Trichoderma longibrachiatum; Fusarium spp.; fumonisins; biological control

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhu, R.; Li, Y.; Viñas, M.; Kong, Q.; Xu, M.; Zhang, X.; Song, X.; He, K.; Guo, Z. Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins. J. Fungi 2026, 12, 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010049

AMA Style

Zhu R, Li Y, Viñas M, Kong Q, Xu M, Zhang X, Song X, He K, Guo Z. Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins. Journal of Fungi. 2026; 12(1):49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010049

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Ruiqing, Ying Li, María Viñas, Qing Kong, Manlin Xu, Xia Zhang, Xinying Song, Kang He, and Zhiqing Guo. 2026. "Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins" Journal of Fungi 12, no. 1: 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010049

APA Style

Zhu, R., Li, Y., Viñas, M., Kong, Q., Xu, M., Zhang, X., Song, X., He, K., & Guo, Z. (2026). Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins. Journal of Fungi, 12(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010049

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Inhibitory Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Growth of Fusarium Species and Accumulation of Fumonisins

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI