Analyses of Transcriptome Expression Profiles during Interaction between Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Aspergillus flavus

doi:10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2025.02.021

Abstract

Abstract: To clarify the molecular antagonistic mechanism of Trichoderma inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus flavus, colonies of T. longibrachiatum and A. flavus were collected during their interaction periods, and the enzymes activities to degrade cell wall and antioxidant were detected via ELISA. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the biological processes were further analyzed during the interaction between two fungi using RNA-seq method. The results indicated that the colonies growth rates of T. longibrachiatum were significantly faster with a plate inhibiting rate against A. flavus of 81.1% at the same environment. T. longibrachiatum generated larger amounts of cellulase, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase. Moreover, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) were suppressed, while the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was boosted in A. flavus. Compared with control groups, those DEGs were detected to be 2202, 755 and 789 in A. flavus, and 8507, 3055 and 1363 in T. longibrachiatum at early, middle and late stages, respectively. And eleven pivotal interacting candidate genes were screened based on the transcriptomic analysis. These candidate genes are mainly involved in biological processes such as cell wall synthesis, cell membrane permeability, redox reaction, etc. It suggested that T. longibrachiatum could inhibit the effects of antioxidant system and antagonize the growth of A. flavus by up-regulating genes coding for enzymes to degrade cell wall and cell membrane, and by inhibiting the expression of heat shock protein genes in A. flavus. The results would provide a theoretical foundation to take T. longibrachiatum as a biocontrol resource against A. flavus and the production of aflatoxin.

Key words: Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Aspergillus flavus, antagonistic effects, transcriptomics, enzyme activity

CLC Number:

S476

QI Ting, WANG Xinyu, HUANG Shihui, HU Fengbin, XU Tingting, LIANG Caikang, WU Lijuan, NIU Xi, RAN Xueqin, WANG Jiafu. Analyses of Transcriptome Expression Profiles during Interaction between Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Aspergillus flavus[J]. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 2025, 41(2): 321-334.

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