Trichoderma-Induced Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Solanum Species: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

With the idea of summarizing the outcomes of studies focusing on the resistance induced by Trichoderma spp. against Botrytis cinerea in tomato, the present paper shows, for the first time, results of a meta-analysis performed on studies published from 2010 to 2021 concerning the cross-talk occurring in the tomato–Trichoderma-B. cinerea system. Starting from an initial set of 40 papers, the analysis was performed on 15 works and included nine parameters, as a result of a stringent selection mainly based on the availability of more than one article including the same indicator. The resulting work not only emphasizes the beneficial effects of Trichoderma in the control of grey mold in tomato leaves (reduction in disease intensity, severity and incidence and modulation of resistance genes in the host), but carefully drives the readers to reply to two questions: (i) What are the overall effects of Trichoderma on B. cinerea infection in tomato? (ii) Do the main effects of Trichoderma differ based on the tomato species, Trichoderma species, amount, type and duration of treatment? At the same time, this meta-analysis highlights some weak points of the available literature and should be seen as an invitation to improve future works to better the conceptualization and measure.

Biological Control of Plant Pathogens: A Global Perspective

“…Trichoderma spp. and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) have long been considered to be widespread potential BCAs [ 151 , 152 ]. A meta-analysis was conducted on papers published between 2010 and 2021 that looked at cross-talk in the tomato– Trichoderma – B. cinerea system.…”

“…The analysis was carried out on 15 publications, starting with a collection of 40 papers. Trichoderma ’s role in the control of grey mold in tomato leaves (decrease in disease intensity, severity, and occurrence, as well as modulation of resistance genes in the host) was highlighted in the research [ 151 ]. Defense priming, or AMF-induced resistance, is becoming more widely recognized as AMF’s ability to induce systemic resistance to insect herbivores and diseases [ 152 ].…”

Trichoderma Species: Our Best Fungal Allies in the Biocontrol of Plant Diseases—A Review

“…During the Trichoderma– plant interaction, the benefits received by the plant are not just an increase in biomass and overall nutrition but also protection against several phytopathogens, either by acting directly over the pathogen as a mycoparasite and competing for nutrients or indirectly by inducing the plant defense system [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Several species from this genus have been studied and used in field assays as effective biocontrol agents, such as T. harzianum , T. virens , T. atroviride , T. asperellum , T. hamatum , T. gamsii , T. viride , among others [ 30 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ].…”

“…In some other cases, plant-associated microbes can induce the plant defense systems, such as the rhizobacteria-induced systemic resistance (RISR) pathway, which phenotypically resembles SAR [ 1 ], in response to the presence of the microorganism. It could be said that Trichoderma -induced systemic resistance (TISR) is very similar to RISR since both are regulated by the jasmonic acid and ethylene (JA/ET) signaling pathway [ 52 , 77 , 78 ]. However, the plant defense system and the signaling that coordinates the response are highly variable, even within the same plant kingdom.…”

“…With over 200 Trichoderma species registered [ 40 , 87 ] and their potential to be used as biocontrol agents and plant growth promoters, it has led to many studies to gain more knowledge about their mechanisms of action, focusing studies on mycoparasitism and competition [ 60 , 88 ], production of secondary metabolites with antagonistic activity [ 63 , 68 ] and induction of plant systemic resistance [ 52 , 89 ].…”