Fusarium oxysporum induces the production of proteins and volatile organic compounds by Trichoderma harzianum T-E5

Trichoderma species have been used widely as biocontrol agents for the suppression of soil-borne pathogens. However, some antagonistic mechanisms of Trichoderma are not well characterized. In this study, a series of laboratory experiments were designed to characterize the importance of mycoparasitism, exoenzymes, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by Trichoderma harzianum T-E5 for the control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC). We further tested whether these mechanisms were inducible and upregulated in presence of FOC. The results were as follows: T-E5 heavily parasitized FOC by coiling and twisting the entire mycelium of the pathogen in dual cultures. T-E5 growing medium conditioned with deactivated FOC (T2) showed more proteins and higher cell wall-degrading enzyme activities than T1, suggesting that FOC could induce the upregulation of exoenzymes. The presence of deactivated FOC (T2') also resulted in the upregulation of VOCs that five and eight different types T-E5-derived VOCs were identified from T1' and T2', respectively. Further, the excreted VOCs in T2' showed significantly higher antifungal activities against FOC than T1'. In conclusion, mycoparasitism of T-E5 against FOC involved mycelium contact and the production of complex extracellular substances. Together, these data provide clues to help further clarify the interactions between these fungi.