Q.Different species belonging to genus Trichoderma are useful to humans as well as to plants. Justify their roles by giving one instance of each.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Trichoderma species are beneficial fungi, acting as effective biocontrol agents and plant growth promoters for plants, and as industrial producers of enzymes like cellulase for humans.
Trichoderma is a genus of ubiquitous, fast-growing fungi found in soil and on decaying wood. Their versatility stems from their ability to produce a wide array of enzymes and secondary metabolites, as well as their competitive nature. These characteristics make them highly valuable in both agriculture and industrial biotechnology.
Here's a justification of their roles with specific instances:
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Role for Plants: Biocontrol and Plant Growth Promotion
- Concept: Trichoderma species are well-known for their antagonistic properties against various plant pathogenic fungi and their ability to promote plant growth. This makes them excellent biological control agents (biopesticides) and biofertilizers.
- Why it works:
- Mycoparasitism: Trichoderma species can directly parasitize other fungi. They coil around the hyphae of pathogenic fungi, penetrate their cell walls using lytic enzymes (like chitinases, glucanases, and proteases), and absorb nutrients, thereby killing the pathogen.
- Antibiosis: They produce a range of antimicrobial compounds (antibiotics, volatile compounds) that inhibit the growth of plant pathogens.
- Competition: Trichoderma are fast growers and efficient colonizers of roots and soil, outcompeting pathogens for space and nutrients.
- Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR): They can trigger defense responses in plants, making the plants more resistant to diseases.
- Plant Growth Promotion: Some Trichoderma strains enhance nutrient uptake (e.g., phosphorus solubilization), produce plant growth-promoting hormones (like auxins), and improve root development, leading to healthier and more vigorous plants.
- Instance: Trichoderma harzianum is widely used as a commercial biofungicide to control soil-borne plant pathogens such as Pythium (causing damping-off), Rhizoctonia solani (causing root rot and damping-off), and Sclerotium rolfsii (causing stem rot). It is applied to seeds, soil, or directly to plants to protect them from these diseases, reducing the reliance on chemical pesticides.
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Role for Humans: Industrial Enzyme Production
- Concept: Trichoderma species are prolific producers of various extracellular enzymes, particularly cellulases, hemicellulases, and pectinases. These enzymes have significant applications in various industrial processes.
- Why it works:
- Trichoderma species, especially those found in environments rich in lignocellulosic biomass, have evolved highly efficient enzymatic systems to break down complex plant cell wall components. This ability is harnessed for industrial-scale enzyme production. …
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