TY - JOUR
T1 - Trichoderma protoplast fusion
T2 - A tool for improving biocontrol agents
AU - Pe'er, S.
AU - Chet, I.
PY - 1990
Y1 - 1990
N2 - Protoplasts from two auxotrophic mutants of Trichoderma harzianum Rifai (ATCC 32173), obtained from young thalli following cell wall digestion by NovoZym 234, were fused in 33% PEG suspended in 10 mM Tris-HCl and 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5. The frequency of fusion between lysine- and arginine-requiring auxotrophs resulting in prototrophic strains was about 5%. These prototrophic strains were classified into parental and nonparental types. Colonies developed from single conidia of the nonparental phenotype exhibited prototrophic parental or recombinant phenotypes. The ability of both prototrophic and parental strains to overgrow the soil-borne pathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, and Pythium aphanidermatum in dual cultures was used to evaluate their antagonistic capability. The antagonistic abilities of the prototrophic strains were found to vary with each pathogenic fungus. The prototrophic strain A2 overgrew all the pathogenic fungi more rapidly than the parental strains. Strain A2 effectively controlled Rhizoctonia damping-off of cotton seedlings, in the greenhouse, when compared with the parental strains. Protoplast fusion appears to be a useful tool for combining desirable traits from parental strains to produce improved biocontrol strains.
AB - Protoplasts from two auxotrophic mutants of Trichoderma harzianum Rifai (ATCC 32173), obtained from young thalli following cell wall digestion by NovoZym 234, were fused in 33% PEG suspended in 10 mM Tris-HCl and 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.5. The frequency of fusion between lysine- and arginine-requiring auxotrophs resulting in prototrophic strains was about 5%. These prototrophic strains were classified into parental and nonparental types. Colonies developed from single conidia of the nonparental phenotype exhibited prototrophic parental or recombinant phenotypes. The ability of both prototrophic and parental strains to overgrow the soil-borne pathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, and Pythium aphanidermatum in dual cultures was used to evaluate their antagonistic capability. The antagonistic abilities of the prototrophic strains were found to vary with each pathogenic fungus. The prototrophic strain A2 overgrew all the pathogenic fungi more rapidly than the parental strains. Strain A2 effectively controlled Rhizoctonia damping-off of cotton seedlings, in the greenhouse, when compared with the parental strains. Protoplast fusion appears to be a useful tool for combining desirable traits from parental strains to produce improved biocontrol strains.
KW - Biocontrol
KW - Protoplast fusion
KW - Trichoderma harzianum
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0025216038&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1139/m90-002
DO - 10.1139/m90-002
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AN - SCOPUS:0025216038
SN - 0008-4166
VL - 36
SP - 6
EP - 9
JO - Canadian Journal of Microbiology
JF - Canadian Journal of Microbiology
IS - 1
ER -