Genome Biology volume 12 , Article number: R40 Cite this article. Metrics details. 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. 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.
Several gene families are expanded in the two mycoparasitic species relative to T. A phylogenetic analysis shows that T. The mycoparasitism-specific genes thus arose in a common Trichoderma ancestor but were subsequently lost in T. The data offer a better understanding of mycoparasitism, and thus enforce the development of improved biocontrol strains for efficient and environmentally friendly protection of plants.
Mycoparasitism is the phenomenon whereby one fungus is parasitic on another fungus, a lifestyle that can be dated to at least million years ago by fossil evidence [ 1 ].
This has special relevance when the prey is a plant pathogen, providing a strategy for biological control of pests for plant protection 'biocontrol'. The movement toward environmentally friendly agricultural practices over the past two decades has thus accelerated research in the use of biocontrol fungi [ 2 ].
The beneficial effects of Trichoderma spp. In addition, it is now known that some Trichoderma biocontrol strains also interact intimately with plant roots, colonizing the outer epidermis layers, and acting as opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts [ 6 ].
