Pimentel Mirian F, Rocha Leonardo F, Subedi Arjun, Bond Jason P, Fakhoury Ahmad M
School of Agriculture Sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois, United States of America.
BASF- Global Agricultural Solutions, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 24;20(1):e0310850. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310850. eCollection 2025.
Trichoderma spp. are among the most studied biocontrol agents. While extensive work has been done to understand Trichoderma antagonistic mechanisms, additional research is needed to fully understand how Trichoderma spp. recognize the pathogen-host and the intra-species variability i frequently observed upon interaction with a specific pathogen-host. This study focuses on elucidating the mechanisms underlying observed phenotypic differences among the T. afroharzianum isolates Th19A and Th4 during confrontation with Fusarium virguliforme by investigating differences in their transcriptome at different stages of interaction. In a dual plate assay, Th19A overgrows F. virguliforme, whereas Th4 forms an inhibition zone. Significant differences were observed in the F. virguliforme transcriptome upon interaction with Th19A compared to Th4 and across the different stages of interaction. GO molecular function categories enriched for F. virguliforme genes differed, indicating possible transcriptional plasticity upon interaction with Th19A versus Th4. Significant transcriptome changes were also observed in T. afroharzianum, with several differences in GO-enriched categories between isolates. Several differentially expressed genes-encoding secreted proteins, including CAZymes and CBM1-domain-containing proteins, were up-regulated in Th19A and Th4 upon interaction with the pathogen, even before physical contact, demonstrating possible volatile-mediated recognition of both isolates by F. virguliforme. This study contributes to a better understanding of the interaction between T. afroharzianum and F. virguliforme, which is crucial for developing efficient biological control programs.
木霉菌是研究最多的生物防治剂之一。虽然已经开展了大量工作来了解木霉菌的拮抗机制，但仍需要进一步研究，以全面了解木霉菌如何识别病原体宿主，以及在与特定病原体宿主相互作用时经常观察到的种内变异性。本研究通过调查哈茨木霉分离株Th19A和Th4在与尖孢镰刀菌对峙过程中不同阶段转录组的差异，着重阐明观察到的表型差异背后的机制。在双平板试验中，Th19A能够覆盖尖孢镰刀菌生长，而Th4则形成抑制区。与Th4相比，以及在相互作用的不同阶段，尖孢镰刀菌与Th19A相互作用时的转录组存在显著差异。尖孢镰刀菌基因富集的GO分子功能类别不同，表明与Th19A和Th4相互作用时可能存在转录可塑性。哈茨木霉也观察到显著的转录组变化，分离株之间在GO富集类别上存在一些差异。在与病原体相互作用时，甚至在物理接触之前，Th19A和Th4中几个编码分泌蛋白的差异表达基因（包括碳水化合物活性酶和含CBM1结构域的蛋白）就被上调，这表明尖孢镰刀菌可能通过挥发性物质介导识别这两种分离株。本研究有助于更好地理解哈茨木霉与尖孢镰刀菌之间的相互作用，这对于制定有效的生物防治方案至关重要。
