Secondary metabolism in Trichoderma - Chemistry meets genomics

Species of the genus Trichoderma inhabit diverse environments and undergo a variety of interactions with different other organisms. Mycoparasitic Trichoderma species are successfully applied as bio-fungicides due to their plant-protecting abilities and they are prolific producers of secondary metabolites which comes along with an enrichment in secondary metabolism-associated genes in their genomes. The objective of this article is to review the secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma spp. along with a comprehensive overview of their genomic content for genes and gene clusters being involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis. We discuss the bioactivity of selected Trichoderma-derived secondary metabolites with a focus on their roles in the interactions of Trichoderma with plants and fungal preys and give an overview on methods for secondary metabolite profiling. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Mycological Society.