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Cell wall-degrading isoenzyme profiles of Trichoderma biocontrol strains show correlation with rDNA taxonomic species

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Abstract

Trichoderma is known for being the most frequently used biocontrol agent in agriculture. A fundamental part of the Trichoderma antifungal system relies on a series of genes coding for a variety of extracellular lytic enzymes. Characterization of the polymorphism between five putative isoenzymatic activities [β-1,3-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.39, EC 3.2.1.58), β-1,6-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.75), cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; EC 3.2.1.21, EC 3.2.1.91), chitinase (EC 3.2.1.30, EC 3.2.1.52), protease (EC 3.4.11; EC 3.4.13–19; EC 3.4.21–24, EC 3.4.99)] was carried out using 18 strains from three sections of Trichoderma. Of these, seven strains were from T. sect. Pachybasium, nine from T. sect. Trichoderma and two from T. sect. Longibrachiatum. Thirty-seven different alleles in total were identified: 13 for β-1,3-glucanase, four for β-1,6-glucanase, three for cellulase, eight for chitinase and nine for protease activity. A dendrogram (constructed by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages) based on isoenzymatic data separated the 18 strains into three main enzymatic groups: T. harzianum, T. atroviride/T. viride/T. koningii and T. asperellum/T. hamatum/T. longibrachiatum. Isoenzymatic groupings obtained from biocontrol strains are discussed in relation to their phylogenetic location, based on their sequence of internal transcribed spacer 1 in ribosomal DNA and their antifungal activities.

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Acknowledgements

We want to thank Emma J. Keck for the critical revision of this manuscript. The present study was funded with grants from the European Commission (FAIR6-CT98-4140) and the Fundación Andaluza de I+D (Sevilla, Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiología y Genética, Centro Hispano Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias, Universidad de Salamanca, 37007, Salamanca, Spain

    Luis Sanz, Manuel Montero, Juan Antonio Vizcaíno, Rosa Hermosa & Enrique Monte

  2. Newbiotechnic S.A. (NBT), 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Isabel Grondona

  3. IBVF-CIC Isla de la Cartuja, CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Antonio Llobell

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  1. Luis Sanz
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  2. Manuel Montero
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  3. Isabel Grondona
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  4. Juan Antonio Vizcaíno
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  5. Antonio Llobell
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  6. Rosa Hermosa
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  7. Enrique Monte
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Correspondence to Enrique Monte.

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Communicated by U. Kück

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Sanz, L., Montero, M., Grondona, I. et al. Cell wall-degrading isoenzyme profiles of Trichoderma biocontrol strains show correlation with rDNA taxonomic species. Curr Genet 46, 277–286 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-004-0532-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-004-0532-6

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