{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is a globally distributed soilborne pathogen responsible for severe diseases in various crops, including rice, wheat, tobacco, and maize, causing substantial economic losses. This study characterized a Trichoderma strain, TA-1, with significant biocontrol efficacy against tobacco target spot disease.\n\nMethods: TA-1 was isolated and identified through morphological characterization and molecular analysis as Trichoderma asperellum . Qualitative assays were conducted to assess ammonia production and laccase, amylase, and protease activities. Solid-state fermentation trials were performed to optimize spore production conditions, and greenhouse assays were conducted to evaluate biocontrol efficacy. Microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transcriptomic analyses were used to characterize the interaction between TA-1 and R. solani AG-3.\n\nResults: Qualitative assays indicated ammonia production and laccase, amylase, and protease activities in TA-1. The optimal spore production conditions were wheat bran substrate, 0.5% glucose, 1.5% ammonium sulfate, a water-to-substrate ratio of 1:1, and a fermentation duration of 6 days, under which the spore yield reached 4.74 × 10 ⁹ CFU/g dry substrate. Greenhouse assays showed that both TA-1 spore suspension and fermentation filtrate significantly suppressed disease symptoms caused by R. solani AG-3, with the spore suspension exhibiting stronger inhibition. Microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed clear mycoparasitic features during the TA-1–AG-3 interaction, including hyphal attachment and coiling, structural damage to pathogen hyphae, and colonization of the sclerotial surface. Transcriptomic analysis further identified strong upregulation of TrAFT101_005492 , encoding a CFEM domain protein (log ₂ FC = 4.99), and TrAFT101_000974 , encoding a lipoxygenase (log ₂ FC = 4.73), suggesting their potential association with the mycoparasitic interaction.\n\nDiscussion: Overall, T. asperellum TA-1 possesses broad antagonistic activity and considerable biocontrol potential, supporting its further evaluation as a biological control agent for sustainable disease management.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha",
    "Hunan Academy of Forestry, Changsha",
    "Hunan Provincial Branch, China National Tobacco Corporation, Changsha",
    "Shaoyang Branch, Hunan Provincial Company of China National Tobacco Corporation, Shaoyang"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Suoni Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yonggang Xia"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Can Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Bin Hu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Cixi Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bing Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dong Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tianbo Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qianjun Tang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s993dp624499.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13710277",
  "id": "8s993dp624499",
  "issns": [
    "1664-302X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221647738",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13710277",
  "pmid": "42948058",
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s993dp624499.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:12Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:34Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42948058",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948058"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:16Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13710277",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1899737"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Biocontrol efficacy of Trichoderma asperellum TA-1 against Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 and its underlying mechanisms",
  "title_text": "Biocontrol efficacy of Trichoderma asperellum TA-1 against Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 and its underlying mechanisms",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:21:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8s993dp624499",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Microbiology",
  "versions": []
}