Fungal Biocontrol Research Articles

The Exploitation of Microbial Antagonists against Postharvest Plant Pathogens.

Postharvest disease management is vital to increase the quality and productivity of crops. As part of crop disease protection, people used different agrochemicals and agricultural practices to manage postharvest diseases. However, the widespread use of agrochemicals in pest and disease control has detrimental effects on consumer health, the environment, and fruit quality. To date, different approaches are being used to manage postharvest diseases. The use of microorganisms to control postharvest disease is becoming an eco-friendly and environmentally sounds approach. There are many known and reported biocontrol agents, including bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Nevertheless, despite the abundance of publications on biocontrol agents, the use of biocontrol in sustainable agriculture requires substantial research, effective adoption, and comprehension of the interactions between plants, pathogens, and the environment. To accomplish this, this review made an effort to locate and summarize earlier publications on the function of microbial biocontrol agents against postharvest crop diseases. Additionally, this review aims to investigate biocontrol mechanisms, their modes of operation, potential future applications for bioagents, as well as difficulties encountered during the commercialization process.

Biocontrol of Trichoderma gamsii induces soil suppressive and growth-promoting impacts and rot disease-protecting activities.

Plant growth-promoting rhizosphere of associated fungi is often used to improve productivity and crop health. Some biocontrol fungi showed less disease protection efficiency due to environmental factors. Hence, the analysis of biocontrol fungi strains in the field is valuable to analyze their performance in the natural environment. The main objective of this study is to isolate the growth-promoting, rot disease-protecting activities of Trichoderma gamsii RH4 obtained from the rhizosphere of black gram (Vigna mungo). In this study, we evaluated the protective role of 13 fungal strains, including T. gamsii against Fusarium oxysporum in the laboratory experiment (antagonistic assay), greenhouse. The growth-promoting activity of the isolated 13 fungal strains was initially screened and the lytic property was assayed. The T. gamsii showed excellent growth-promoting and lytic properties. Lytic enzyme assays revealed a significant difference in the enzyme yield than other isolates (p < 0.05). The influence of selected plant-growth-promoting fungal strains on the suppression of F. oxysporum rot and wilt black gram was analyzed. Results revealed that these fungal isolates improved black gram growth in greenhouse and significantly reduced wilt and rot disease. The improved growth and yield registered in this study proved growth-promoting and biocontrol properties. The potent T. gamsii was applied in the open field and its effect on green gram was observed. The field trial experiment revealed several growth-promoting effects such as the weight and length of the root and shoot system. The isolated native T. gamsii has the potential to improve the biocontrol properties against rot disease.

A new system to study directional volatile-mediated interactions reveals the ability of fungi to specifically react to other fungal volatiles

Microbes communicate with each other using a wide array of chemical compounds, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Usually, such volatile-mediated interactions are studied by growing two different microbes in a shared, confined environment and by subsequently collecting and analyzing the emitted VOCs by gas chromatography. This procedure has several drawbacks, including artificial volatile overaccumulation and potential oxygen limitation, as well as the impossibility to assign a producer to the compounds newly emitted during the interaction. To address these challenges, we have developed a novel system specifically designed to analyze volatile-mediated interactions allowing for sequential unidirectional exposure of a “receiver” microorganism to the VOCs of an “emitter” microorganism. Using hermetically sealed systems connected to an air compressor, a constant unidirectional airflow could be generated, driving emitted volatiles to be absorbed by a collection charcoal filter. Thus, our developed system avoids artificial overaccumulation of volatile compounds and lack of oxygen in the headspace and enables the univocal assignment of VOCs to their producers. As a proof of concept, we used this newly developed experimental setup to characterize the reaction of plant growth-promoting and biocontrol fungus (Trichoderma simmonsii) to the perception of VOCs emitted by two plant pathogens, namely Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum. Our results show that the perception of each pathogen's volatilome triggered a specific response, resulting in significant changes in the VOCs emitted by Trichoderma. Trichoderma's volatilome modulation was overall stronger when exposed to the VOCs from Fusarium than to the VOCs from Botrytis, which correlated with increased siderophore production when co-incubated with this fungus. Our newly developed method will not only help to better understand volatile-mediated interactions in microbes but also to identify new molecules of interest that are induced by VOC exposure, as well as the putative-inducing signals themselves.

Applications of Chaetomium globosum CEF-082 improve soil health and mitigate the continuous cropping obstacles for Gossypium hirsutum

Serious crop diseases caused by soil microecological disturbances have been considered important causes of continuous cropping obstacles. Continuous long-term farming of cotton, an important cash crop, can lead to cotton yield and quality decline and the aggravation of soil-borne pathogens, such as Verticillium dahliae. A pot experiment was carried out in the continuous cropping cotton field soil of Xinjiang to investigate the impact of the biocontrol fungus Chaetomium globosum CEF-082 on removing the barrier to continuous cropping in cotton fields and its impact on soil microecology in cotton fields. The addition of CEF-082 increased the diversity and abundance of bacterial species, decreasing the abundance of pathogenic fungi, such as Fusarium and Verticillium, and decreasing the abundance ratio of fungi to bacteria (F/B) in soil according to high-throughput sequencing of cotton rhizosphere soil. Furthermore, the application of CEF-082 enhanced soil enzyme activity and soil pH value, controlled soil nutrient levels, and reduced the soil C/N ratio through the cotton root surrounding the soil nutrient level and enzyme activity change test. These modifications imply that the use of the biocontrol fungus CEF-082 may improve soil health, reduce the prevalence of soil-borne pathogens, restore damaged soil microecology, and have a favorable impact on easing the obstacles of continuous cotton cropping.

Exploring the Mycovirus Universe: Identification, Diversity, and Biotechnological Applications

Viruses that infect fungi are known as mycoviruses and are characterized by the lack of an extracellular phase. In recent years, the advances on nucleic acids sequencing technologies have led to a considerable increase in the number of fungi-infecting viral species described in the literature, with a special interest in assessing potential applications as fungal biocontrol agents. In the present study, we performed a comprehensive review using Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases to mine mycoviruses data to explore their molecular features and their use in biotechnology. Our results showed the existence of 267 mycovirus species, of which 189 are recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The majority of the mycoviruses identified have a dsRNA genome (38.6%), whereas the Botourmiaviridae (ssRNA+) alone represents 14% of all mycoviruses diversity. Regarding fungal hosts, members from the Sclerotinicaeae appeared as the most common species described to be infected by mycoviruses, with 16 different viral families identified so far. It is noteworthy that such results are directly associated with the high number of studies and strategies used to investigate the presence of viruses in members of the Sclerotinicaeae family. The knowledge about replication strategy and possible impact on fungi biology is available for only a small fraction of the mycoviruses studied, which is the main limitation for considering these elements potential targets for biotechnological applications. Altogether, our investigation allowed us to summarize the general characteristics of mycoviruses and their hosts, the consequences, and the implications of this knowledge on mycovirus-fungi interactions, providing an important source of information for future studies.

A comparative study between some biocontrol agents and the nematicide furfural on growth of tomato plants and pathogenesis of meloidogyne javanica under green-house condition

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of three fungal biocontrol agents along with G.mosseae and nematicide furfural against root knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica infecting tomato plants(Lycopersicon esculentum) under greenhouse condition. Bioagents are Paecilomyces lilacinus, Trichoderma harzianum , T. viride and mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae which were compared with the nematicide furfural . The furfural compound was the best treatment in promoting plant growth and reduction the number of root galls/plant . The result showed that the T. harzianum was the best biocontrol agent in increasing shoot length and root length 16.2 % , 26.1% respectively .The P. lilacinus was the best biocontrol agent in reduction root galling (57.53%). Combination of biocotrol agents with G. mosseae and furfural was the least effective treatment in promoting plant growth and the reduction of root galling was 31.43%.

Four pillars are required to support a successful biocontrol fungus.

Despite biocontrol conceptually being a useful way to control specific pests, there are very few products that are used beyond the greenhouse level, into the field. Only if organisms meet four criteria (four pillars) will they be widely used in the field to replace or augment conventional agrichemicals. 1. The virulence of the biocontrol agent must be enhanced to overcome evolutionary barriers either by mixing with synergistic chemicals or with one or more organisms, and/or by mutagenic or transgenic enhancing of virulence of the biocontrol fungus; 2. Inoculum production must be cost-effective; many inocula are produced by expensive, labour-intensive solid-phase fermentation; 3. Inocula must be formulated both to have long shelf life of inocula as well as being formulated to establish on, and control the target pest. Usually spores are formulated, while chopped mycelia from liquid culture are cheaper to produce and are immediately active upon application; 4. After fulfilling these three criteria, the product must be biosafe: not produce mammalian toxins that affect users and consumers, and have a host range that does not include crops and beneficial organisms, and in most cases that it will not spread from application sites or have environmental residues beyond those needed to control the target pest. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Harnessing fungal biocontrol agents for the management of plant diseases

Harnessing fungal biocontrol agents for the management of plant diseases

Recent Advances in Life History Transition with Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora and Its Application in Sustainable Agriculture.

Parasitic nematodes cause great annual loss in the agricultural industry globally. Arthrobotrys oligospora is the most prevalent and common nematode-trapping fungus (NTF) in the environment and the candidate for the control of plant- and animal-parasitic nematodes. A. oligospora is also the first recognized and intensively studied NTF species. This review highlights the recent research advances of A. oligospora as a model to study the biological signals of the switch from saprophytism to predation and their sophisticated mechanisms for interacting with their invertebrate hosts, which is of vital importance for improving the engineering of this species as an effective biocontrol fungus. The application of A. oligospora in industry and agriculture, especially as biological control agents for sustainable purposes, was summarized, and we discussed the increasing role of A. oligospora in studying its sexual morph and genetic transformation in complementing biological control research.

Root-knot nematode pathogen suppression in eggplant using antagonistic fungi

BackgroundMeloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood is a major pest of eggplant in Pakistan. The second-stage juveniles (J2s) feed on the roots of eggplant. Damaged roots swell and the plant exhibits stunted growth. Mostly farmers rely on the use of broad-spectrum nematicides. However, due to hazardous effects on the environment and non-target species, its application is greatly criticized. Fungal biocontrol agents have been long used for curtailing root-knot nematode infections. The present study was conducted to determine the virulence of four fungal biocontrol agents against M. incognita under laboratory and greenhouse conditions.ResultsThe in vitro results revealed that Trichoderma harzianum significantly caused 77.60% egg inhibition, followed by Pochonia chlamydosporium (53.0%) at 1:1 concentration after 72 h. The maximum J2s mortality was achieved by T. harzianum (82.0%), followed by P. chlamydosporium (70.20%) at 1:1 concentration after 72 h. The in-planta examination carried out at a greenhouse demonstrated that the soil drench treatment of fungal biocontrol agents significantly suppressed M. incognita parameters and upraised the eggplant growth. The mean least number of galls (22.25) was in T. harzianum treated plants, while the control had (206.8) galls. Likewise, T. harzianum curtailed the least egg masses to 35.75 and swollen females to 21.12 than control negative (224.13 egg masses and 182.75 swollen females).ConclusionT. harzianum was the best agent to control M. incognita (J2s) effectively, followed by P. chlamydosporum. T. harzianum may be a contribution to the biological control of M. incognita in Pakistan.

Three Chitin Deacetylase Family Members of Beauveria bassiana Modulate Asexual Reproduction and Virulence of Fungi by Mediating Chitin Metabolism and Affect Fungal Parasitism and Saprophytic Life.

As an important chitin-modifying enzyme, chitin deacetylase (CDA) has been characterized in many fungi, but its function in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana remains unclear. Three CDAs with conserved domains of the carbohydrate esterase 4 (CE-4) family were identified in B. bassiana. Disruption of CDA1 resulted in growth restriction of the fungus on medium with chitin as a carbon source or without a carbon source. Deletion of CDA1 and CDA2 led to defects in fungal conidial formation and conidial vitality compared with those of the wild type (WT), and the conidial yield decreased by 25.81% to 47.68%. Inactivation of three CDA genes resulted in a decrease of 20.23% to 27% in the blastospore yield. ΔCDA1 and ΔCDA3 showed 29.33% and 23.34% reductions in cuticular infection virulence, respectively. However, the CDA family may not contribute to hemocoel infection virulence. Additionally, the sporulation of the insect carcass showed that the three gene deletion mutants were 68.45%, 63.84%, and 56.65% less than WT. Penetration experiments with cicada wings and enzyme activity assays were used to further explore the effect of the fungus on chitin metabolism after gene deletion. Although the three gene deletion mutants penetrated the cicada wings successfully and continued to grow on the underlying medium, their colony sizes were reduced by 29.12% to 47.76%. The CDA enzyme activity of ΔCDA1 and ΔCDA3 decreased by 84.76% and 83.04%, respectively. These data showed that members of the CDA family play a different role in fungal growth, conidial quality, and virulence. IMPORTANCE In this study, we report the roles of CDA family in entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana. Our results indicated that CDA modulates asexual development and regulates fungal virulence by altering chitin deacetylation and metabolic capacity. CDA affected the biological control potential and life history of B. bassiana by affecting its parasitic and saprophytic life. These findings provide novel insights into the roles of multiple CDA paralogues existing in fungal biocontrol agents.

Californian thistle (Cirsium arvense): endophytes and Puccinia punctiformis.

Californian thistle (Cirisum arvense) is a troublesome weed in pastures and cropping systems. The fungal biocontrol agent Puccinia punctiformis, commonly referred to as thistle rust, performs inconsistently on C.arvense. Problems with P.punctiformis establishment and control of C.arvense may be attributable to differing plant endophytic populations in various environments. This article provides an overview of the relationships between endophytes and their host, but also between endophytes and pathogens with a focus on rust pathogens. This review provides insights into reasons why P. punctiformis performs inconsistently and identifies gaps in our knowledge. Filling these gaps may help to improve performance of this classical fungal biocontrol agent. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Biological control of diseases caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR)

The soil-borne pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 induces both root and crown rot (RCR) and damping-off in sugar beet, which considerably reduces the productivity of this industrial crop. Most often, synthetic fungicides are commonly used to control this fungus. Biological control agents have attracted interest as an alternative to chemical fungicides for controlling several plant diseases. The current study aimed at finding antagonistic bacteria that could be used for biological control against this pathogen. A set of 198 bacterial strains were screened using an in vitro dual culture test with R. solani AG-2-2. Out of these, eleven isolates with important antifungal activity against the pathogen were chosen and characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Molecular characterization demonstrated that all selected isolates clustered under the genus Bacillus (B. velezensis B. amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis). In addition, chosen isolates of bacteria were also characterized for their potential to synthesize antifungal metabolites and for their abilities as plant growth-stimulators. Bacterial isolates differed substantially in their capability to synthesize antifungal metabolites and for their abilities as plant growth-stimulators. Bacterial isolates differed substantially in their capability to synthesize antifungal metabolites and for their abilities as plant growth-stimulators. Bacterial isolates differed substantially in their capability to synthesize lipopeptide antibiotics. A test under greenhouse conditions revealed that sugar beet seeds soaked in an individual bacterial isolate significantly decreased Rhizoctonia damping-off. Additionally, seedlings grown from soaked seeds exhibited significant increase in assessed growth parameters. Likewise, selected bacterial isolates exhibited an antagonistic effect on this pathogen, and considerably decreased the severity of RCR caused by Rhizoctonia. For sustainable agriculture, B. velezensis SS2 seems more promising as a fungal biocontrol agent against Rhizoctonia RCR and B. velezensis BM2 can be used as a bio-fertilizer.

Taugt17b1 Overexpression in Trichoderma atroviride Enhances Its Ability to Colonize Roots and Induce Systemic Defense of Plants.

Trichoderma atroviride, a soil fungus, has important applications in the biocontrol of plant diseases. Glycosyltransferases enhance the root colonization ability of Trichoderma spp. This study aimed to functionally characterize glycosyltransferase Taugt17b1 in T. atroviride. We investigated the effect of Taugt17b1 overexpression in T. atroviride H18-1-1 on its biocontrol properties, especially its ability to colonize roots. Our results demonstrated that the overexpression of the Taugt17b1 increases the T. atroviride colony growth rate, improves its root colonization ability, promotes the growth and activity of the defensive enzymatic system of plants, and prevents plant diseases. This study put forth a new role of T. atroviride glycosyltransferase and furthered the understanding of the mechanisms by which fungal biocontrol agents exert their effect.

Biocontrol Effect of Clonostachys rosea on Fusarium graminearum Infection and Mycotoxin Detoxification in Oat (Avena sativa).

Oat (Avena sativa) is susceptible to Fusarium head blight (FHB). The quality of oat grain is threatened by the accumulation of mycotoxins, particularly the trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON), which also acts as a virulence factor for the main pathogen Fusarium graminearum. The plant can defend itself, e.g., by DON detoxification by UGT-glycosyltransferases (UTGs) and accumulation of PR-proteins, even though these mechanisms do not deliver effective levels of resistance. We studied the ability of the fungal biocontrol agent (BCA) Clonostachys rosea to reduce FHB and mycotoxin accumulation. Greenhouse trials showed that C. rosea-inoculation of oat spikelets at anthesis 3 days prior to F. graminearum inoculation reduced both the amount of Fusarium DNA (79%) and DON level (80%) in mature oat kernels substantially. DON applied to C. rosea-treated spikelets resulted in higher conversion of DON to DON-3-Glc than in mock treated plants. Moreover, there was a significant enhancement of expression of two oat UGT-glycosyltransferase genes in C. rosea-treated oat. In addition, C. rosea treatment activated expression of genes encoding four PR-proteins and a WRKY23-like transcription factor, suggesting that C. rosea may induce resistance in oat. Thus, C. rosea IK726 has strong potential to be used as a BCA against FHB in oat as it inhibits F. graminearum infection effectively, whilst detoxifying DON mycotoxin rapidly.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Defense Mechanism of Cotton against Verticillium dahliae Induced by Hypovirulent Fungus Gibellulopsis nigrescens CEF08111.

Verticillium wilt is a kind of plant vascular disease caused by the soilborne fungus Verticillium dahliae, which severely limits cotton production. Our previous studies showed that the endophytic fungus Gibellulopsis nigrescens CEF08111 can effectively control Verticillium wilt and induce a defense response in cotton plants. However, the comprehensive molecular mechanism governing this response is not yet clear. To study the signaling mechanism induced by strain CEF08111, the transcriptome of cotton seedlings pretreated with CEF08111 was sequenced. The results revealed 249, 3559 and 33 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 3, 12 and 48 h post inoculation with CEF08111, respectively. At 12 h post inoculation with CEF08111, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs were enriched mainly in the plant-pathogen interaction, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway-plant, and plant hormone signal transduction pathways. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that these DEGs were enriched mainly in the following terms: response to external stimulus, systemic acquired resistance, kinase activity, phosphotransferase activity, xyloglucan: xyloglucosyl transferase activity, xyloglucan metabolic process, cell wall polysaccharide metabolic process and hemicellulose metabolic process. Moreover, many genes, such as calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK), flagellin-sensing 2 (FLS2), resistance to Pseudomonas syringae&amp;nbsp;pv. maculicola 1(RPM1) and myelocytomatosis protein 2 (MYC2), that regulate crucial points in defense-related pathways were identified and may contribute to V. dahliae resistance in cotton. Seven DEGs of the pathway phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and these genes are related to lignin synthesis. The above genes were compared and analyzed, a total of 710 candidate genes that may be related to the resistance of cotton to Verticillium wilt were identified. These results provide a basis for understanding the molecular mechanism by which the biocontrol fungus CEF08111 increases the resistance of cotton to Verticillium wilt.

Biosurfactants produced by the novel strain Bacillus subtilis H1 as an efficient tool to biocontrol fungal diseases of tomato and wheat

Plant fungal diseases cause up to 15-20% and, in extreme cases, up to 60% yield loss globally. The use of chemical pesticides for the suppression of fungal plant diseases has many negative consequences for the environment. Therefore, new alternatives to suppress fungal pathogens are actively sought. In this present study, biosurfactants produced by the novel strain of Bacillus subtilis H1 were monitored for their ability to inhibit the growth of phytopathogens Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and Alternaria spp in in vitro and in vivo experiments. In the in vitro experiment, the treatment of tomato leaves with a biosurfactant fully inhibited the growth of F. oxysporum, and reduced the growth of Alternaria spp mycelium by 11.5 times at a concentration of 1000 mg/l. In the in vivo experiment, the use of a biosurfactant reduced the degree of damage to tomato and wheat plants, but less than in the in vitro experiment. In the case of tomato leaves infected with F. oxysporum and Alternaria spp and treated with 1000 mg/l biosurfactants, a decrease of 2.6 and 2.1 times was determined relative to infected but intreated leaves. For wheat leaves, the decrease was by 1.6 and 2.0 times, respectively. It can be concluded that biosurfactants produced by B. subtilis H1 are promising to be used for fungal pathogens biocontrol.

EFFICACY OF TRICHODERMA AGAINST GREEN GRAM ROOT ROT PATHOGEN MACROPHOMINAPHASEOLINA

Green gram (Vignaradiata L.) is one of Indias most essential and widely cultivated pulse crops. Several biotic and abiotic factors cause the yield loss in green gram. Among the biotic factors, root rot is one of the devasting factors which can cause maximum yield loss under severe conditions. Ten pathogenic isolates of Macrophominaphaseolinacausing root rot in Greengramwere collected from different locations in the Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu. The isolates produced root rot symptoms under artificial inoculation to confirm the pathogenicity. Among these isolates, Macrophominaphaseolina 1 isolated from Valikandapuramwas virulent, which took for further study. To test the efficacy of fungal biocontrol agents against the Greengram root rot pathogen, ten Trichodermaviride were isolated from ten different places in the Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu and evaluated in vitro. Among the ten isolates tested against Macrophominaphaseolina, the isolate Tv- 1 isolated from the Esanai village of Perambalur District effectively arrested the mycelial growth of Macrophominaphaseolina, which recorded 61.00 per cent growth inhibition over control.

Isolation and identification of fungi associated with Falcataria moluccana gall-rust in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Istikorini Y, Cahyani NN, Haneda NF, Shabrina H, Nugroho A, Indriani F, Siregar UJ. 2022. Isolation and identification of fungi associated with Falcataria moluccana gall-rust in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 6171-6179. Gall-rust disease caused by Uromycladium falcatariae is the most important disease of sengon in Indonesia. Plant pathogenic parasitism as a biological control mechanism is usually associated with fungal biocontrol agents. This study aimed to isolate and identify the fungi associated with the sengon gall rust from the Forest Management Unit of Jatirejo, Indonesian State Forest Company, Kediri. Fungi were isolated from the black or gray-green patches of gall-rust samples on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) plates. The fungi were identified using macroscopic and microscopic examinations. The molecular identification of fungal DNA was amplified by PCR using a specific internal transcribed spacer primer (ITS1/ITS4). The PCR products were sequenced and compared with the other related sequences in GenBank (NCBI). DNA barcode identification results showed 9 isolates containing of 8 species, namely Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. chlamydosporum, F. circinatum, F. incarnatum, F. verticillioides, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Pestalotiopsis palmarum. This result showed that the Fusarium was the most fungi commonly found fungi on the gall's rust teliospore surface.

Comparative Effectiveness of Filamentous Fungi in Biocontrol of Meloidogyne javanica and Activated Defense Mechanisms on Tomato.

The nematicidal potential of five filamentous fungi as biological control agents (BCAs) against the root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne javanica, infecting tomato was assessed in vitro and in pot experiments. The five promising native taxa, namely Trichoderma&amp;nbsp;longibrachiatum, T. harzainum, T. asperellum, Lecanicillium spp., and Metacordyceps chlamydosporia, were selected to compare their effectiveness against both chemical (Mocap, 10% ethoprophos) and biological (abamectin) nematicides on M. javanica reproduction indices and plant growth parameters. The stimulation of defense mechanisms was assessed by monitoring changes in the enzymatic activities of the polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), lipid peroxidation (MDA), phenols, and proteins content of tomato roots. The laboratory assays revealed that T. longibrachiatum,&amp;nbsp;M. chlamydoporia, and Lecanicillium spp. seemed to be the most effective under laboratory conditions, with more than 60% of juvenile mortality. The egg infection rate was above 62%, and the egg hatching rate was below 32%. The direct parasitism by the five taxa was confirmed by scanning electron microscope observation. The results of this study found a similar parasitism mechanism for T. longibrachiatum, T. harzianum, and&amp;nbsp;M. chlamydosporia, where their hyphae and spores adhered to the M. javanica juveniles cuticle layer and formed trapping rings around them. The pot experiment results showed that T. harzianum and Lecanicillium spp. enhanced the plant growth parameters. Trichoderma&amp;nbsp;longibrachiatum, abamectin, and the ethoprophos-based nematicides effectively decreased the reproduction rates of the nematode. The Trichoderma species and M. chlamydosporia significantly reduced the gall index and female fecundity of RKN. The treatment with BCAs and chemical nematicides involved a significant increase in the antioxidant activities of nematode-infected plants. The ethoprophos and fungal treatments decreased the MDA and total phenols content compared with the nematode-infested seedlings. This paper analyzes the advancements made towards the effective and efficient biocontrol of M. javanica using different fungal taxa, especially T. longibrachiatum and M. chlamydosporia, and the implications of these advancements for sustainable agriculture and food security.