Trichoderma application methods differentially affect the tomato growth, rhizomicrobiome, and rhizosphere soil suppressiveness against Fusarium oxysporum

Trichoderma spp. are widely used to enhance crop growth and suppress diverse diseases. However, inconsistent field efficacy remains a major barrier to their use as a reliable alternative to synthetic pesticides. Various strategies have been investigated to enhance the robustness of their application. Here, we evaluated how T. virens application methods (pre-, at-, and post-transplant) affect the growth of two tomato varieties and their rhizosphere fungal and bacterial communities. Although the greatest rhizosphere abundance of T. virens was observed in the post-transplant application, the at-transplant application promoted tomato growth the most, indicating that greater rhizosphere abundance does not necessarily result in better tomato growth. None of the application methods significantly altered the global rhizosphere fungal and bacterial communities of the tested varieties. Changes in specific microbial genera and guilds may underpin the enhanced tomato growth. We also investigated whether the resulting microbiome changes affect the mycelial growth and conidial germination of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, soilborne fungal pathogens of tomato, upon exposure to volatile compounds emitted by culturable rhizosphere microbes and metabolites extracted from the rhizosphere soils after Trichoderma treatments. Volatile compounds produced by cultured rhizosphere microbes after the at-transplant application suppressed the mycelial growth of both pathogens better than those after the other treatments. Similarly, water-soluble metabolites extracted from the rhizosphere soil samples after the at-transplant application most effectively suppressed the germination rate of F. oxysporum spores. Overall, our results suggest that the at-transplant application is most advantageous for promoting the growth of the tested tomato varieties and building soil suppressiveness against the tested fusaria. However, further studies are needed before applying this method to support tomato production. We discuss critical future questions.

Endophytic Bacillus subtilis H17-16 effectively inhibits Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen of potato late blight, and its potential application

BACKGROUND

As a highly prevalent epidemic disease of potato, late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans poses a serious threat to potato yield and quality. At present, chemical fungicides are mainly used to control potato late blight, but long-term overuse of chemical fungicides may lead to environmental pollution and human health threats. Endophytes, natural resources for plant diseases control, can promote plant growth, enhance plant resistance, and secrete antifungal substances. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find some beneficial endophytes to control potato late blight.

RESULTS

We isolated a strain of Bacillus subtilis H17-16 from potato healthy roots. It can significantly inhibit mycelial growth, sporangia germination and the pathogenicity of Phytophthora infestans, induce the resistance of potato to late blight, and promote potato growth. In addition, H17-16 has the ability to produce protease, volatile compounds (VOCs) and form biofilms. After H17-16 treatment, most of the genes involved in metabolism, virulence and drug resistance of Phytophthora infestans were down-regulated significantly, and the genes related to ribosome biogenesis were mainly up-regulated. Moreover, field and postharvest application of H17-16 can effectively reduce the occurrence of potato late blight, and the combination of H17-16 with chitosan or chemical fungicides had a better effect than single H17-16.

CONCLUSION

Our results reveal that Bacillus subtilis H17-16 has great potential as a natural fungicide for controlling potato late blight, laying a theoretical basis for its development as a biological control agent. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Isolation and Screening of Antagonistic Endophytes against Phytophthora infestans and Preliminary Exploration on Anti-oomycete Mechanism of Bacillus velezensis 6-5

Phytophthora infestans, the notorious pathogen of potato late blight, leads to a severe decline in potato yields and even harvest failure. We isolated 201 endophytic isolates from healthy root tissues of potatoes, among which 41 showed strong antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Further, the tolerance to stress and the potential application against potato late blight of these antagonistic isolates were tested. Most of them were extremely tolerant to stresses such as acid-alkali, temperature, UV, salt, and heavy metal stress. However, some antagonistic isolates with excellent stress tolerance might be pathogenic to potatoes. Combining the screening results, a total of 14 endophytes had excellent comprehensive performance in all the tests. In this paper, the endophyte 6-5 was selected among them for the preliminary exploration of the anti-oomycete mechanism. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence revealed that 6-5 had a high homology to the corresponding sequence of Bacillus velezensis (99.72%) from the NCBI database. Endophyte 6-5 significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. infestans, with an inhibition rate of over 90% in vitro assays, and deformed the hyphal phenotype of P. infestans. In addition, endophyte 6-5 could secrete protease and cellulase, and produce antagonistic substances with high thermal stability, which might be helpful to its antagonistic activity against P. infestans. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that 6-5 had the ability to improve the resistance of potato tubers to late blight. In short, our study described the process of isolating and screening endophytes with antagonistic activity against P. infestans from potato roots, and further explored the potential of biocontrol candidate strain 6-5 in potato late blight control.

Strain improvement of Trichoderma harzianum for enhanced biocontrol capacity: Strategies and prospects

In the control of plant diseases, biocontrol has the advantages of being efficient and safe for human health and the environment. The filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum and its closely related species can inhibit the growth of many phytopathogenic fungi, and have been developed as commercial biocontrol agents for decades. In this review, we summarize studies on T. harzianum species complex from the perspective of strain improvement. To elevate the biocontrol ability, the production of extracellular proteins and compounds with antimicrobial or plant immunity-eliciting activities need to be enhanced. In addition, resistance to various environmental stressors should be strengthened. Engineering the gene regulatory system has the potential to modulate a variety of biological processes related to biocontrol. With the rapidly developing technologies for fungal genetic engineering, T. harzianum strains with increased biocontrol activities are expected to be constructed to promote the sustainable development of agriculture.

Trichoderma spp. Genes Involved in the Biocontrol Activity Against Rhizoctonia solani

Rhizoctonia solani is a pathogen that causes considerable harm to plants worldwide. In the absence of hosts, R. solani survives in the soil by forming sclerotia, and management methods, such as cultivar breeding, crop rotations, and fungicide sprays, are insufficient and/or inefficient in controlling R. solani. One of the most challenging problems facing agriculture in the twenty-first century besides with the impact of global warming. Environmentally friendly techniques of crop production and improved agricultural practices are essential for long-term food security. Trichoderma spp. could serve as an excellent example of a model fungus to enhance crop productivity in a sustainable way. Among biocontrol mechanisms, mycoparasitism, competition, and antibiosis are the fundamental mechanisms by which Trichoderma spp. defend against R. solani, thereby preventing or obstructing its proliferation. Additionally, Trichoderma spp. induce a mixed induced systemic resistance (ISR) or systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in plants against R. solani, known as Trichoderma-ISR. Stimulation of every biocontrol mechanism involves Trichoderma spp. genes responsible for encoding secondary metabolites, siderophores, signaling molecules, enzymes for cell wall degradation, and plant growth regulators. Rhizoctonia solani biological control through genes of Trichoderma spp. is summarized in this paper. It also gives information on the Trichoderma-ISR in plants against R. solani. Nonetheless, fast-paced current research on Trichoderma spp. is required to properly utilize their true potential against diseases caused by R. solani.

Involvement of lytic enzymes and secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma spp. in the biological control of Pythium myriotylum

This investigation was aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activities and involvement of extracellular lytic enzymes produced by four strains of Trichoderma in the inhibition of Pythium myriotylum. Antagonistic effects were tested by dual culture. Activities of lytic enzymes were evaluated from the filtrate of each strain after cultivation in selected media. Organic extracts were obtained from liquid media subsequent to the cultivation of Trichoderma in potato dextrose broth (PDB). Non-volatile organic compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids were evaluated spectrophotometrically while volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antimicrobial activity of the organic extracts was determined using the poisoning method. Results have shown that all the strains were antagonists against P. myriotylum. T. erinaceum (IT-58), T. gamsii (IT-62), T. afroharzianum (P8), and T. harzianum (P11) that were found to produce cellulase, protease, and xylanase. Over 20 compounds were identified in each extract, including esters, lactones, and organic acids. The organic extracts also contained high amounts of polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids and significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. myriotylum. The minimal inhibition concentrations were 80 μg/μL, 40 μg/μL, 20 μg/μL, and 10 μg/μL, for extracts obtained from T. erinaceum (IT-58), T. gamsii (IT-62), T. afroharzianum (P8), and T. harzianum (P11), respectively. There was significant correlation between the production of total polyphenol and flavonoid content and the antagonistic effects of the tested strains.

Lignocellulolytic characterization and comparative secretome analysis of a Trichoderma erinaceum strain isolated from decaying sugarcane straw

The fungus Trichoderma reesei is employed in the production of most enzyme cocktails used by the lignocellulosic biofuels industry today. Despite significant improvements, the cost of the required enzyme preparations remains high, representing a major obstacle for the industrial production of these alternative fuels. In this study, a new Trichoderma erinaceum strain was isolated from decaying sugarcane straw. The enzyme cocktail secreted by the new isolate during growth in pretreated sugarcane straw-containing medium presented higher specific activities of β-glucosidase, endoxylanase, β-xylosidase and α-galactosidase than the cocktail of a wild T. reesei strain and yielded more glucose in the hydrolysis of pretreated sugarcane straw. A proteomic analysis of the two strains' secretomes identified a total of 86 proteins, of which 48 were exclusive to T. erinaceum, 35 were exclusive to T. reesei and only 3 were common to both strains. The secretome of T. erinaceum also displayed a higher number of carbohydrate-active enzymes than that of T. reesei (37 and 27 enzymes, respectively). Altogether, these results reveal the significant potential of the T. erinaceum species for the production of lignocellulases, both as a possible source of enzymes for the supplementation of industrial cocktails and as a candidate chassis for enzyme production.

Histone acetyltransferase TGF-1 regulates Trichoderma atroviride secondary metabolism and mycoparasitism

Some filamentous fungi of the Trichoderma genus are used as biocontrol agents against airborne and soilborne phytopathogens. The proposed mechanism by which Trichoderma spp. antagonizes phytopathogens is through the release of lytic enzymes, antimicrobial compounds, mycoparasitism, and the induction of systemic disease-resistance in plants. Here we analyzed the role of TGF-1 (Trichoderma Gcn Five-1), a histone acetyltransferase of Trichoderma atroviride, in mycoparasitism and antibiosis against the phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor that promotes histone acetylation, slightly affected T. atroviride and R. solani growth, but not the growth of the mycoparasite over R. solani. Application of TSA to the liquid medium induced synthesis of antimicrobial compounds. Expression analysis of the mycoparasitism-related genes ech-42 and prb-1, which encode an endochitinase and a proteinase, as well as the secondary metabolism-related genes pbs-1 and tps-1, which encode a peptaibol synthetase and a terpene synthase, respectively, showed that they were regulated by TSA. A T. atroviride strain harboring a deletion of tgf-1 gene showed slow growth, thinner and less branched hyphae than the wild-type strain, whereas its ability to coil around the R. solani hyphae was not affected. Δtgf-1 presented a diminished capacity to grow over R. solani, but the ability of its mycelium -free culture filtrates (MFCF) to inhibit the phytopathogen growth was enhanced. Intriguingly, addition of TSA to the culture medium reverted the enhanced inhibition growth of Δtgf-1 MFCF on R. solani at levels compared to the wild-type MFCF grown in medium amended with TSA. The presence of R. solani mycelium in the culture medium induced similar proteinase activity in a Δtgf-1 compared to the wild-type, whereas the chitinolytic activity was higher in a Δtgf-1 mutant in the absence of R. solani, compared to the parental strain. Expression of mycoparasitism- and secondary metabolism-related genes in Δtgf-1 was differentially regulated in the presence or absence of R. solani. These results indicate that histone acetylation may play important roles in the biocontrol mechanisms of T. atroviride.

Integrated Translatome and Proteome: Approach for Accurate Portraying of Widespread Multifunctional Aspects of Trichoderma

Genome-wide studies of transcripts expression help in systematic monitoring of genes and allow targeting of candidate genes for future research. In contrast to relatively stable genomic data, the expression of genes is dynamic and regulated both at time and space level at different level in. The variation in the rate of translation is specific for each protein. Both the inherent nature of an mRNA molecule to be translated and the external environmental stimuli can affect the efficiency of the translation process. In biocontrol agents (BCAs), the molecular response at translational level may represents noise-like response of absolute transcript level and an adaptive response to physiological and pathological situations representing subset of mRNAs population actively translated in a cell. The molecular responses of biocontrol are complex and involve multistage regulation of number of genes. The use of high-throughput techniques has led to rapid increase in volume of transcriptomics data of Trichoderma. In general, almost half of the variations of transcriptome and protein level are due to translational control. Thus, studies are required to integrate raw information from different “omics” approaches for accurate depiction of translational response of BCAs in interaction with plants and plant pathogens. The studies on translational status of only active mRNAs bridging with proteome data will help in accurate characterization of only a subset of mRNAs actively engaged in translation. This review highlights the associated bottlenecks and use of state-of-the-art procedures in addressing the gap to accelerate future accomplishment of biocontrol mechanisms.

Poly-γ-glutamic acid productivity of Bacillus subtilis BsE1 has positive function in motility and biocontrol against Fusarium graminearum

In this study, we investigate the relationship between γ-PGA productivity and biocontrol capacity of Bacillus subtilis BsE1; one bacterial isolate displayed 62.14% biocontrol efficacy against Fusarium root rot. The γ-PGA yield assay, motility assay, wheat root colonization assay, and biological control assay were analysed in different γ-PGA yield mutants of BsE1. The pgsB (PGA-synthase-CapB gene) deleted mutant of BsE1 reduced γ-PGA yield and exhibited apparent decline of in vitro motile ability. Deletion of pgsB impaired colonizing capacity of BsE1 on wheat root in 30 days, also lowered biocontrol efficacies from 62.08% (wild type BsE1) to 14.22% in greenhouse experiment against Fusarium root rot. The knockout of pgdS and ggt (genes relate to two γ-PGA degrading enzymes) on BsE1, leads to a considerable improvement in polymer yield and biocontrol efficacy, which attains higher level compared with wild type BsE1. Compared with ΔpgsB mutant, defense genes related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phytoalexin expressed changes by notable levels on wheat roots treated with BsE1, demonstrating the functional role γ-PGA plays in biocontrol against Fusarium root rot. γ-PGA is not only important to the motile and plant root colonization ability of BsE1, but also essential to the biological control performed by BsE1 against Fusarium root rot. Our goal in this study is to reveals a new perspective of BCAs screening on bacterial isolates, without good performance during pre-assays of antagonism ability.

Comparison of protease activities in different Bacillus licheniformis strains using wastewater sludge and synthetic soy medium as raw material

The production of extracellular protease by different Bacillus licheniformis strains (ATCC 21415, ATCC 21417 and ATCC 21424) was tested in wastewater sludge as a raw material as well as in synthetic soy medium to compare the capacity of protease production by different strains and to compare the capacity of the medium to provide nutrients for enzyme synthesis. All of the strains showed similar activities in both media. The protease activity was very high in the fermentor in both of the media compared with the shake flask. Results from microbial selection indicated that ATCC 21424 had high potential for protease production using sludge as a growth medium. The observation from this study suggested that wastewater sludge could be used as a raw material (nutrient source) to produce protease for industrial applications.

Purification and preliminary characterization of a cold-adapted extracellular proteinase from Trichoderma atroviride

Eleven cold-tolerant Trichoderma isolates were screened for the production of proteolytic activities at 10 degrees C. Based on the activity profiles determined with paranitroanilide substrates at 5 degrees C, strain T221 identified as Trichoderma atroviride was selected for further investigations. The culture broth of the strain grown at 10 degrees C in casein-containing culture medium was concentrated by lyophilization and subjected to gel filtration, which was followed by chromatofocusing of the fraction showing the highest activity on N-benzoyl-Phe-Val-Arg-paranitroanilide. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of 24 kDa, an isoelectric point of 7.3 and a pH optimum of 6.2. The temperature optimum of 25 degrees C and the low thermal stability suggested that it is a true cold-adapted enzyme. Substrate specificity data indicate that the enzyme is a proteinase with a preference for Arg or Lys at the P1 position. The effect of proteinase inhibitors suggests that the enzyme has a binding pocket similar to the one present in trypsin.

Enhanced biocontrol activity of Trichoderma virens transformants constitutively coexpressing beta-1,3- and beta-1,6-glucanase genes

Evidence for the role of chitinases, proteases and beta-1,3- and beta-1,6-glucanases in mycoparasitism by Trichoderma species has been well documented. Moreover, constitutive over-expression of genes encoding individual cell-wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) has been shown to improve the potential of biological agents. In this study, we generated transformants of T. virens in which beta-1,3- and beta-1,6-glucanase genes, TvBgn2 and TvBgn3, respectively, were constitutively coexpressed in the same genetic T. virens Gv29.8 wild-type background. The double over-expression transformants (dOEs) grow and sporulate slower than the wild-type (WT). However, the reduction in growth did not seem to affect their mycoparasitic and biocontrol capabilities, as dOEs displayed much higher levels of total beta-1,3- and beta-1,6-glucanase activity than the WT. This higher enzymatic activity of dOEs positively correlated with observed in vitro inhibition of Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani mycelia, and with enhanced bioprotection of cotton seedlings against P. ultimum, R. solani and Rhizopus oryzae. Besides effective biocontrol of all pathogens at an original inoculum level, the performance of dOEs was highly enhanced (up to 312% of WT performance) when pathogen pressure was greater (i.e. concentration of inoculum was higher or pathogens applied in combination). These results demonstrate that the strategy of introducing multiple lytic enzyme-encoding genes through transformation of a given biocontrol strain can be successfully used to achieve better biocontrol.

Characterization of genes encoding novel peptidases in the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum CECT 2413 using the TrichoEST functional genomics approach

Proteolytic enzymes (EC 3.4) secreted by Trichoderma strains are receiving increasing attention because of their potential implication in the Trichoderma biocontrol abilities. We have used an expressed sequence tag (EST) approach to identify genes encoding extracellular peptidases in T. harzianum CECT 2413 grown under several biocontrol-related conditions. Based on BlastX results and Gene Ontology annotation, a total of 61 (among 3478) unique sequences (unisequences) were predicted to encode enzymes with peptidase activity, three corresponding to secreted peptidases already known from this Trichoderma strain (PAPA, PRA1 and P6281). Further manual screening based on the functional identity and cellular location of the best matches revealed ten unisequences encoding novel extracellular peptidases. We report the characterization of the corresponding genes as well as a potential orthologous gene of the intracellular peptidase PAPB from T. asperellum. In each case, full-length coding sequences were obtained, and deduced proteins were compared at phylogenetic level with peptidases from other organisms. T. harzianum CECT 2413 novel peptidases included six serine endopeptidases (EC 3.4.21) belonging to the families S1, S8 and S53, three aspartic endopeptidases (EC 3.4.23) of the family A1, one metallo-endopeptidase (EC 3.4.24) of the family M35, and one aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.11) of the family M28. Results obtained by Northern blot analyses demonstrated that the genes within a family are differentially regulated in response to different culture conditions, suggesting that they have diverse functional roles.

Production of Trichoderma strains with pesticide-polyresistance by mutagenesis and protoplast fusion

The sensitivity of two cold-tolerant Trichoderma strains belonging to the species T. harzianum and T. atroviride was determined to a series of pesticides widely used in agriculture. From the 16 pesticides tested, seven fungicides: copper sulfate, carbendazim, mancozeb, tebuconazole, imazalil, captan and thiram inhibited colony growth of the test strains significantly with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 300, 0.4, 50, 100, 100, 100 and 50 microg/ml, respectively. Mutants resistant to carbendazim and tebuconazole were produced from both wild type strains by means of UV-mutagenesis. The cross-resistance capabilities and in vitro antagonistic properties of the mutants were determined. Carbendazim-resistant mutants showed total cross-resistance to benomyl and thiabendazole at a concentration of 20 microg/ml. Intraspecific protoplast fusion was carried out between carbendazim- and tebuconazole-resistant mutants of both parental strains, and putative haploid recombinants with stable resistance to both pesticides were produced in the case of T. atroviride. These pesticide-polyresistant progenies are potential candidates for application in an integrated pest management system.

Enhancement of mutanase production in Trichoderma harzianumby mutagenesis

Conidia of Trichoderma harzianum F-340, an active producer of fungal mutanase, were mutagenized with physical and chemical mutagens used separately or in combination. After mutagenesis, the drop in conidia viability ranged from 0.004% to 71%. Among the applied mutagens, nitrosoguanidine gave the highest frequency of cultures with enhanced mutanase activity (98%). In total, 400 clones were isolated, and preliminarily evaluated for mutanase activity in flask microcultures. Eight most productive mutants were then quantified for mutanase production in shake flask cultures. The obtained results fully confirmed a great propensity of all the tested mutants to synthesize mutanase, the activity of which increased from 59 to 107% in relation to the parental T. harzianum culture. The best mutanase-overproducing mutant (T. harzianumn F-340-48), obtained with nitrosoguanidine, produced the enzyme activity of 1.36 U/ml (4.5 U/mg protein) after 4 days of incubation in shake flask culture. This productivity was almost twices higher than that achieved by the initial strain F-340, and, at present, is the best reported in the literature. The potential application of mutanase in dentistry is also discussed.

Comparative study of potential virulence factors in human pathogenic and saprophytic Trichoderma longibrachiatum strains

Potential virulence factors of 9 saprophytic and 12 clinical Trichoderma longibrachiatum strains were examined in the present study, in order to compare their capacity to cause infection in humans. All of the strains were able to grow at temperatures up to 40 degrees C and at pH values ranging from 2.0 to 9.0. Carbon and nitrogen source utilization experiments revealed that all of the strains were able to utilize a series of basic amino acids both as sole carbon and nitrogen sources. The MIC values of the tested antifungal drugs were found to be 0.016-8 microg/ml for amphotericin B, 64-256 microg/ml for fluconazole, 0.5-32 microg/ml for itraconazole and 0.008-1 microg/ml for ketoconazole in the case of the examined isolates. Metabolites of the strains inhibited the growth of different bacteria, furthermore, compounds produced by three clinical isolates reduced the motility of boar spermatozoa, indicating their toxicity to mammalian cells as well. On the whole, there were no significant differences in the examined features between strains derived from clinical or soil samples. The question, however, whether all environmental Trichoderma longibrachiatum strains have the capacity to cause infections or not, remains still unanswered.

Proteomic analysis of secreted proteins from Trichoderma harzianum

Trichoderma mycoparasitic activity depends on the secretion of complex mixtures of hydrolytic enzymes able to degrade the host cell wall. We have analysed the extracellular proteome secreted by T. harzianum CECT 2413 in the presence of different fungal cell walls. Significant differences were detected in 2DE maps, depending on the use of specific cell walls or chitin. A combination of MALDI-TOF and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry allowed the identification of a novel aspartic protease (P6281: MW 33 and pI 4.3) highly induced by fungal cell walls. A broad EST library from T. harzianum CECT 2413 was used to obtain the full-length sequence. The protein showed 44% identity with the polyporopepsin (EC 3.4.23.29) from the basidiomycete Irpex lacteus. Lower identity percentages were found with other pepsin-like proteases from filamentous fungi (<31%) and animals (<29%). Northern blot and promoter sequence analyses support the implication of the protease P6281 in mycoparasitism.

Extracellular proteases of Trichoderma species. A review

Cellulolytic, xylanolytic, chitinolytic and beta-1,3-glucanolytic enzyme systems of species belonging to the filamentous fungal genus Trichoderma have been investigated in details and are well characterised. The ability of Trichoderma strains to produce extracellular proteases has also been known for a long time, however, the proteolytic enzyme system is relatively unknown in this genus. Fortunately, in the recent years more and more attention is focused on the research in this field. The role of Trichoderma proteases in the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi and nematodes has been demonstrated, and it is also suspected that they may be important for the competitive saprophytic ability of green mould isolates and may represent potential virulence factors of Trichoderma strains as emerging fungal pathogens of clinical importance. The aim of this review is to summarize the information available about the extracellular proteases of Trichoderma. Numerous studies are available about the extracellular proteolytic enzyme profiles of Trichoderma strains and about the effect of abiotic environmental factors on protease activities. A number of protease enzymes have been purified to homogeneity and some protease encoding genes have been cloned and characterized. These results will be reviewed and the role of Trichoderma proteases in biological control as well as their advantages and disadvantages in biotechnology will be discussed.