COLLEGE STATION — Researchers have come closer to understanding
how a common fungus “makes its living in the soil,” which could
lead to its possible “career change” as a therapeutic agent for
plant and human health. That’s according to Dr. Charles
Kenerley, Texas AgriLife Research plant pathologist, and a team
of scientists from the U.S., India and France, whose study on
Trichoderma virens is in February’s Journal of Biological
Chemistry. T. virens already enjoy a good reputation in the
plant world. The fungi is found throughout the world in all
types of soil, Kenerley explained. “We started working with this
organism because it has what we would call biological control
activity,” he added. “They are used either as seed treatment, as
a foliar spray, or in the mixtures of potting soil at nurseries
(to help control disease).” Because they are mycoparasites, T.
virens attack other, less desirable fungi that can harm roots
and foliage of plants, he added. Colonization of plant roots by
T. virens also prompts the