BIOGEN: From genes to biocontrol

Mycoparasitic species of Trichoderma are commercially applied as biological control agents against fungal pathogens. Although more than 50 different Trichoderma-based agricultural products are registered, the knowledge on the underlying intracellular mechanisms and on the involved genes which enable the fungus to antagonize phytopathogenic fungi is still very limited. The aim of the project is to identify mycoparasitism-relevant genes/proteins specifically induced by a living host fungus by combining genome-wide expression profiling and proteomic approaches. By including signaling mutants with altered mycoparasitic features as tools, information not just on the involved genes but also the molecular processes participating in mycoparasitism shall be obtained.