Trichoderma harzianum T6776 is a promising beneficial isolate whose effects consist of growth promotion, positive response of photosynthetic activity, hormonal signaling, and carbon partitioning in tomato, coupled with biocontrol of plant pathogens. Here, we present the first genome assembly of T6776, providing a useful platform for the scientific community.

Background and aims Trichoderma harzianum 6776 is\ud a novel and beneficial tomato fungal isolate. To investigate\ud the mechanisms underlying the T. harzianum 6776-\ud tomato interaction, several physiological and biochemical\ud responses were explored on dwarf tomato plants, cv.\ud Micro-Tom.\ud Methods Growth of treated and untreated plants was\ud evaluated by measuring the height and biomass production\ud of plants. The leaf pigment content and sugar\ud partitioning in plant organs were evaluated by biochemical\ud analysis. The photosynthetic parameters were measured\ud by a miniaturized PAMfluorometer and a portable\ud gas-exchange system. The hormonal analysis in root\ud and xylem sap was performed by gas cromatographymass\ud spectrometry (GC-MS).\ud Results T. harzianum 6776 positively affected plant\ud growth, increasing the leaf pigment content andimproving the photosynthetic activity at both stomatal\ud and non-stomatal levels. Differences in pigment\ud composition and photosynthetic performance\ud were reflected in the carbohydrate content and\ud their partitioning. In the absence of a pathogen,\ud root and xylem vessel stress and growth-related\ud hormone balance were affected by the interaction\ud with T. harzianum 6776, with an increase in\ud jasmonic and indoleacetic acids and a decrease in\ud salicylic acid content.\ud Conclusions This study shows the complex connection\ud between increased hormone accumulation and\ud transport, altered sugar partitioning and enhanced\ud photosynthetic efficiency induced by T. harzianum\ud 6776, and how growth promotion is the result of\ud the combination of these drastic changes in Micro-\ud Tom plants

Gliotoxin (GT) is a dual fungal secondary metabolite (SM). It displays pleiotropic activities and possesses medicinal properties and biocontrol abilities but, unfortunately, has toxic properties in humans. Various Trichoderma species are used as fungal biological control agents (BCAs), as a sustainable alternative for crop protection worldwide. Among them is Trichoderma virens, a GT-producing fungus. Since no information was available on the genetically coded prerequisites for the production of GT in other Trichoderma spp., genome analyses were carried out in 10 Trichoderma spp. genomes. Moreover, a realtime PCR assay setup ad hoc and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses were employed to understand the GT-producing biological systems in T. virens GV29-8 (TvGv29-8) and Trichoderma afroharzianum T6776 (TaT6776), two relevant biocontrol fungi. The structure of the GT biosynthesis genes (GT-BG) is polymorphic, with two distinct types associated with the ability to produce GT. GliH, a key protein for GT synthesis, is absent in most of the Trichoderma GT biosynthetic pathways, which may be the reason for their inability to produce GT. The GT-BG are expressed in TvGv29-8 as expected, while they are silent in TaT6776. Interestingly, in the GT-non-producing TaT6776, only gliA (putative GT transporter) and gtmA (putative GT S-methyltransferase) were induced by exogenous GT, underlining the ability of this strain to reduce the deleterious effect of the toxin. This ability is confirmed by growth assays and by the detection of the bis-thiomethylated form of GT catalyzed by GtmA in the culture medium supplemented with GT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first general description of the GT biological system in different Trichoderma spp. as far as the GT-BG content and organization is concerned and a preliminary insight into their functionality.

É com muita satisfação que apresentamos o 17º Congresso de Iniciação Científica em Ciências Agrárias, Biológicas e Ambientais-17º CICAM. Com uma programação voltada a Inovação, procuramos selecionar temas que estimulassem o interesse dos jovens estudantes de iniciação científica e de pós-graduação por pesquisas nas áreas relacionadas a sanidades animal e vegetal, bem como em proteção ambiental. Além da importância desse conhecimento, nada melhor do que o tema "Nanotecnologia na agricultura/ambiente", para despertar o interesse dos participantes, dando início aos trabalhos do 17º CICAM. Contamos, ainda, com palestras ministradas por pesquisadores provenientes de renomadas Instituições de Pesquisa como, EMBRAPA, Institutos Biológico e Butantã, UFSCar, UNESP e USP e da empresa Sakata, que irão engrandecer o nosso evento com temas voltados para melhoramento genético convencional e por transgenia, vegetal e animal, visando ao controle de pragas e doenças; Produção de vacinas através do uso de vetores virais; Sequenciamento de terceira geração; Tratamento microbiológicos e oxidativos de resíduos industriais: Perspectivas e aplicações; Aplicação de ensaios com cultura de células em ambientes biorremediados; Internet of Things e a agricultura e, para fechar com chave de ouro, a palestra "Vida de cientista: os desafios de uma paixão pela natureza". No 17º CICAM, assim como em todas as outras edições, além dos 48 resumos aprovados pela Comissão Científica da revista O Biológico, teremos o prazer de receber alunos e pesquisadores de diversas instituições de ensino e pesquisa que, com certeza, contribuirão, não só com a divulgação de seus trabalhos, mas também com suas experiências. Contamos, portanto, com a valiosa participação de representantes do Centro

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