Enhancement of plant disease resistance and productivity through use of root symbiotic fungi
Authors: Harman Gary E. , Chet Ilan 
Published: March 2022

The objectives of the project were to (a) compare effects ofT22 and T-203 on growth promotion and induced resistance of maize inbred line Mol7; (b) follow induced resistance of pathogenesis-related proteins through changes in gene expression with a root and foliar pathogen in the presence or absence of T22 or T-203 and (c) to follow changes in the proteome of Mol? over time in roots and leaves in the presence or absence of T22 or T-203. The research built changes in our concepts regarding the effects of Trichoderma on plants; we hypothesized that there would be major changes in the physiology of plants and these would be reflected in changes in the plant proteome as a consequence of root infection by Trichoderma spp. Further, Trichoderma spp. differ in their effects on plants and these changes are largely a consequence of the production of different elicitors of elicitor mixtures that are produced in the zone of communication that is established by root infection by Trichoderma spp. In this work, we demonstrated that both T22 and T-203 increase growth and induce resistance to pathogens in maize. In Israel, it was shown that a hydrophobin is critical for root colonization by Trichoderma strains, and that peptaibols and an expansin-like protein from Ttrichoderma probably act as elicitors of induced resistance in plants. Further, this fungus induces the jasmonate/ethylene pathway of disease resistance and a specific cucumber MAPK is required for transduction of the resistance signal. This is the first such gene known to be induced by fungal systems. In the USA, extensive proteomic analyses of maize demonstrated a number of proteins are differentially regulated by T. harzianum strain T22. The pattern of up-regulation strongly supports the contention that this fungus induces increases in plant disease resistance, respiratory rates and photosynthesis. These are all very consistent with the observations of effects of the fungus on plants in the greenhouse and field. In addition, the chitinolytic complex of maize was examined. The numbers of maize genes encoding these enzymes was increased about 3-fold and their locations on maize chromosomes determined by sequence identification in specific BAC libraries on the web. One of the chitinolytic enzymes was determined to be a heterodimer between a specific exochitinase and different endochitinases dependent upon tissue differences (shoot or root) and the presence or absence of T. harzianum. These heterodimers, which were discovered in this work, are very strongly antifungal, especially the one from shoots in the presence of the biocontrol fungus. Finally, RNA was isolated from plants at Cornell and sent to Israel for transcriptome assessment using Affymetrix chips (the chips became available for maize at the end of the project). The data was sent back to Cornell for bioinformatic analyses and found, in large sense, to be consistent with the proteomic data. The final assessment of this data is just now possible since the full annotation of the sequences in the maize Affy chips is just now available. This work is already being used to discover more effective strains of Trichoderma. It also is expected to elucidate how we may be able to manipulate and breed plants for greater disease resistance, enhanced growth and yield and similar goals. This will be possible since the changes in gene and protein expression that lead to better plant performance can be elucidated by following changes induced by Trichoderma strains. The work was in, some parts, collaborative but in others, most specifically transcriptome analyses, fully synergistic.