In vitro antagonism of Thielaviopsis paradoxa by Trichoderma longibrachiatum.

Seventy-nine Trichoderma strains were isolated from soil taken from 28 commercial plantations of Agave tequilana cv. 'Azul' in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Nine of these isolates produced nonvolatile metabolites that completely inhibited the growth of Thielaviopsis paradoxa on potato dextrose agar plates. These isolates were identified as Trichoderma longibrachiatum on the basis of their morphology and DNA sequence analysis of two genes (ITS rDNA and translation elongation factor EF-1alpha). Mycoparasitism of Th. paradoxa by T. longibrachiatum strains in dual cultures was examined by scanning electron microscopy. The Trichoderma hyphae grew alongside the Th. paradoxa hyphae, but penetration of Thielaviopsis hyphae by Trichoderma was no apparent. Aleurioconidia of Th. paradoxa were parasitized by Trichoderma. Both hyphae and aleurioconidia of Th. paradoxa lost turgor pressure, wrinkled, collapsed and finally disintegrated. In liquid cultures, all nine Trichoderma isolates produced proteases, beta-1,3-glucanases and chitinases that would be responsible for the degradation of Thielaviopsis hyphae. These results demonstrate that the modes of action of T. longibrachiatum involved against Th. paradoxa in vitro experiments are mycoparasitism and the production of nonvolatile toxic metabolites.