A wide range of phytopathogenic fungi exist causing various plant diseases, which can lead to devastating economic, environmental, and social impacts on a global scale. One such fungus is
Pyrrhoderma noxium, causing brown root rot disease in over 200 plant species of
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A wide range of phytopathogenic fungi exist causing various plant diseases, which can lead to devastating economic, environmental, and social impacts on a global scale. One such fungus is
Pyrrhoderma noxium, causing brown root rot disease in over 200 plant species of a variety of life forms mostly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. The aim of this study was to discover the antagonistic abilities of two
Trichoderma strains (#5001 and #5029) found to be closely related to
Trichoderma reesei against
P. noxium. The mycoparasitic mechanism of these
Trichoderma strains against
P. noxium involved coiling around the hyphae of the pathogen and producing appressorium like structures. Furthermore, a gene expression study identified an induced expression of the biological control activity associated genes in
Trichoderma strains during the interaction with the pathogen. In addition, volatile and diffusible antifungal compounds produced by the
Trichoderma strains were also effective in inhibiting the growth of the pathogen. The ability to produce Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), siderophores and the volatile compounds related to plant growth promotion were also identified as added benefits to the performance of these
Trichoderma strains as biological control agents. Overall, these results show promise for the possibility of using the
Trichoderma strains as potential biological control agents to protect
P. noxium infected trees as well as preventing new infections.
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