Trichoderma and Nanotechnology in Sustainable Agriculture: A Review.

Claudia A Ramírez-Valdespino,Erasmo Orrantia-Borunda

doi:10.3389/ffunb.2021.764675

Claudia A Ramírez-Valdespino, Erasmo Orrantia-Borunda

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2021.764675

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Abstract

Due to their unique properties and functionalities, nanomaterials can be found in different activities as pharmaceutics, cosmetics, medicine, and agriculture, among others. Nowadays, formulations with nano compounds exist to reduce the application of conventional pesticides and fertilizers. Among the most used are nanoparticles (NPs) of copper, zinc, or silver, which are known because of their cytotoxicity, and their accumulation can change the dynamic of microbes present in the soil. In agriculture, Trichoderma is widely utilized as a safe biocontrol strategy and to promote plant yield, making it susceptible to be in contact with nanomaterials that can interfere with its viability as well as its biocontrol and plant growth promotion effects. It is well-known that strains of Trichoderma can tolerate and uptake heavy metals in their bulk form, but it is poorly understood whether the same occurs with nanomaterials. Interestingly, Trichoderma can synthesize NPs that exhibit antimicrobial activities against various organisms of interest, including plant pathogens. In this study, we summarize the main findings regarding Trichoderma and nanotechnology, including its use to synthesize NPs and the consequence that these compounds might have in this fungus and its associations. Moreover, based on these findings we discuss whether it is feasible to develop agrochemicals that combine NPs and Trichoderma strains to generate more sustainable products or not.

Highlights

There is a great demand for food products in the agricultural sector, which means that the soil must contain all necessary nutrients and adequate properties for the optimal development of crops
It has been reported that biosynthesized NPs show lower toxicity than NPs obtained by chemical methods due to their stabilization with organic compounds and because no toxic residues are generated during the synthesis process (Fraceto et al, 2018)
We focus on Trichoderma and the efforts that the scientific community has made to develop strategies for the biosynthesis of NPs and their effect against microbes, mainly phytopathogens, as well as the mechanisms of tolerance to the metals present in Trichoderma and their possible extrapolation to the tolerance that Trichoderma shows against NPs

Summary

Introduction

There is a great demand for food products in the agricultural sector, which means that the soil must contain all necessary nutrients and adequate properties for the optimal development of crops. A possible mechanism explaining the higher tolerance of Trichoderma to AgNPs could be its ability to neutralize ROS by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase, which have been shown to increase considerably in the presence of this type of stress, which could open the possibility of using these NPs in the control of phytopathogenic species without compromising the biocontrol fungal species.

Results

Conclusion