Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Potential Isolates of Trichoderma Species Effective against Soil-Borne Pathogens

Abstract

Trichoderma species is one of the key potential bio-control agents against soil-borne pathogens. In this study molecular and biochemical characterization were done using twenty four potential isolates of Trichoderma species, based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS 1 & 4), translation elongation factor(tef-1) gene region and hydrolytic enzymes. In this studytef-1 was found to be better than ITS, to distinguish the Trichoderma isolates into two different species viz., Trichoderma virens and Trichoderma harzianum, on the basis of maximum parsimony sequence analysis. The specific activity of the hydrolytic enzymes showed the significance difference between both the species of Trichoderma, tested against three different pathogens such as Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotiumrolfsii. It was also found that cultivation of Trichoderma isolates with soil borne pathogen (during interaction) produced high hydrolytic enzymes compared to Trichoderma species alone. Among the potential isolates tested for enzyme assay, three isolates viz., V- 7, V-19 and V-21 of T. virens and three isolates such as H-10, H-12 and H-21 of T. harzianum were found as high potential isolates based on its specific activity of the hydrolytic enzymes. Therefore, the identified isolates could be effectively used as potential bio-control agents against soil-borne plant pathogens. Introduction