Evaluation of Trichoderma asperellum as a potential biocontrol agent against Rigidoporus microporus Hevea brasiliensis

Abstract

White root disease caused by Rigidoporus microporus is the most devastating disease in majority of the rubber growing countries, including Malaysia. This study aimed to screen and decipher the mechanisms involved in the biocontrol agents responsible for the inhibition of R. microporus. Among 16 fungal isolates, Trichoderma spp. showed promising results with the highest percent of inhibition shown by Trichoderma asperellum (80.54%). Scanning electron microscopy study revealed coiling of hyphae by Trichoderma species against R. microporus. T. asperellum has demonstrated a maximum inhibition in both volatile and non-volatile metabolite tests with its 75% culture filtrate on PDA plate was observed to cause abnormal morphological character in R. microporus. All Trichoderma species were shown to produce hydrolytic enzymes (chitinase, cellulase and β-1,3-glucanase) and they were active siderophore producers. Present study demonstrated the possible mechanisms involved and responsible for successful inhibition of R. microporus under in vitro condition especially by T. asperellum.

Keywords:

• White root rot
• mycoparasitism
• antibiosis
• enzymatic activity
• siderophores
• Trichoderma spp.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) for the Higher Institution Center of Excellence (HICoE) research grant provided. Special thanks to K.G. You for his guidance in the phylogenetic tree work and Ms. Peguy Djuidje, a Ph.D Owsd fellow in Microbial and Plant and Environmental Biotechnology from the University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon for her technical assistance.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.