Trichoderma: the genomics of opportunistic success

Trichodermaspp. are common filamentous fungi that interact with other fungi, animals and plants and are used for biological control of plant diseases. In this Review, Kubicek and colleagues highlight how saprotrophy and parasitism on other fungi may have driven the evolution of the interactions ofTrichodermaspp. with plants and animals. Trichoderma is a genus of common filamentous fungi that display a remarkable range of lifestyles and interactions with other fungi, animals and plants. Because of their ability to antagonize plant-pathogenic fungi and to stimulate plant growth and defence responses, some Trichoderma strains are used for biological control of plant diseases. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in molecular ecology and genomics which indicate that the interactions of Trichoderma spp. with animals and plants may have evolved as a result of saprotrophy on fungal biomass (mycotrophy) and various forms of parasitism on other fungi (mycoparasitism), combined with broad environmental opportunism.