Mycoparasitism as a mechanism of Trichoderma-mediated suppression of plant diseases

Trichoderma spp. are widely used as plant disease biocontrol agents in agriculture. Mycoparasitism, which is an ancestral trait of Trichoderma, is one of the most important mechanisms of reducing the pathogen inocula. Mycoparasitism is a complex physiological process that should be viewed in the broad perspective of microbial competition, and involves the production of enzymes and secondary metabolites. Trichoderma spp. have traditionally been viewed as necrotrophic mycoparasites; however, there are evidences that, at least in some instances, they behave as hemibiotrophs, causing minor damage to the host cell wall and having an intracellular existence in the host cell for a significant period. In this review, we cover different aspects of Trichoderma as mycoparasites, ranging from evolution to genomics and interactions with “non-target” fungi.