title: Endemic plants harbour specific Trichoderma communities with an exceptional potential for biocontrol of phytopathogens.
abstract: Trichoderma strains exhibit enormous potential for applications in biotechnology, in particular as biocontrol agents against pathogens. However, little is known about the diversity of plant-associated Trichoderma communities at a global scale and their antagonistic spectrum. In order to gather information about structure and function, we compared Trichoderma biomes of endemic (Aeonium, Diospyros, Hebe, Rhododendron) and cosmopolitan plants (Zea mays) in a global study encompassing the area Northwest Africa to New Zealand via the European Alps and Madagascar. At the quantitative level we found no differences between cosmopolitan and endemic plants. Statistically significant differences were detected at the qualitative level: Trichoderma populations of endemic plants were highly specific and diverse with hot spots appearing in Madagascar and New Zealand. By contrast, maize plants from all sites shared the majority of Trichoderma species (65.5%). Interestingly, the high above ground biodiversity in ecosystems containing endemic plants was confirmed by a high below ground Trichoderma diversity. Despite the differences, we found a global Trichoderma core community shared by all analysed plants, which was dominated by T. koningii and T. koningiopsis. Amplicon-based network analyses revealed a high similarity between maize Trichoderma grown world-wide and distinct populations of endemic plants. Furthermore, Trichoderma strains from endemic plants showed a higher antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens compared to maize-associated strains. Our results showed that endemic plants are associated with a specific Trichoderma microbiome which possesses a high antagonistic activity indicating that it has potential to be used for biocontrol purposes.
authors.affiliation: Graz University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Petersgasse 12, 8010 Graz, Austria; Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB GmbH), Petersgasse 14, 8010 Graz, Austria. Electronic address: christin.zachow@acib.at.
authors.forename: Christin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zachow
authors.affiliation: Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, Institute of Plant Sciences, Holteigasse 6, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Graz University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Petersgasse 12, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: AgResearch Limited, 4749 Private Bag, 8140 Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Monk
authors.affiliation: Graz University of Technology, Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Petersgasse 12, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Berg
mesh_terms: D061046:Biological Control Agents; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology*; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014242:Trichoderma / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D003313:Zea mays / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents
keywords: Antagonist; Endemic plants; Maize; Pathogens; Plant-associated Trichoderma