화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Applied Microbiology, Vol.117, No.3, 812-823, 2014
Overexpression of erg1 gene in Trichoderma harzianum CECT 2413: effect on the induction of tomato defence-related genes
Aims: To investigate the effect of the overexpression of erg1 gene of Trichoderma harzianum CECT 2413 (T34) on the Trichoderma-plant interactions and in the biocontrol ability of this fungus. Methods and Results: Transformants of T34 strain overexpressing erg1 gene did not show effect on the ergosterol level, although a drastic decrease in the squalene level was observed in the transformants at 96 h of growth. During interaction with plants, the erg1 overexpression resulted in a reduction of the priming ability of several tomato defence-related genes belonging to the salicylate pathway, and also of the TomLoxA gene, which is related to the jasmonate pathway. Interestingly, other jasmonate-related genes, such as PINI and PINII, were slightly induced. The erg1 overexpressed transformants also showed a reduced ability to colonize tomato roots. Conclusions: The ergosterol biosynthetic pathway might play an important role in regulating Trichoderma-plant interactions, although this role does not seem to be restricted to the final product; instead, other intermediates such as squalene, whose role in the Trichoderma-plant interaction has not been characterized, would also play an important role. Significance and Impact of the Study: The functional analysis of genes involved in the synthesis of ergosterol could provide additional strategies to improve the ability of biocontrol of the Trichoderma strains and their interaction with plants.