Genome-Mediated Methods to Unravel the Native Biogeographical Diversity and Biosynthetic Potential of Trichoderma for Plant Health

Trichoderma is a soil-borne fungal pathogen distributed in diverse climatic zones of India. They are economically most important fungi which are widely used in commercial and agricultural sector. They produce some enzymes, antibiotics and secondary metabolites and therefore with the help of biotechnological applications these are applied against several fungal pathogens. These fungi are used as a good alternative to chemically produced pesticides and insecticides and are useful for sustainable agriculture. Till date, 375 Trichoderma species have been identified and among them some species including T. harzianum, T. viride, T. atroviride, T. reesei, T. hamatum, T. Longibrachiatum and T. asperellum are widely used as biocontrol, biofertilizer and growth-promoting agents. Among these species, a few viz. T. reesei, T. atroviride, T. virens, T. harzianum and T. Asperellum are the most studied and their whole genome is sequenced. T. reesei with a genome size of 33 Mb is the first Trichoderma species whose genome is completely sequenced. The aim of the present chapter is to give current status of the diversity of Trichoderma species in India and their uses on different agricultural crops to protect from pathogens.