biology

Trichoderma viride

Trichoderma viride is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trichoderma viride rather than just read about it. In short: Trichoderma viride is a fungus and a biofungicide. It is used for seed- and soil treatment for suppression of various diseases caused by fungal pathogens.

Key takeaways

Trichoderma viride belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trichoderma viride to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trichoderma viride from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trichoderma viride is a fungus and a biofungicide. It is used for seed- and soil treatment for suppression of various diseases caused by fungal pathogens.

Biology T. viride is a mold which produces spores asexually, by mitosis. It is the anamorph of Hypocrea rufa, its teleomorph, which is the sexual reproductive stage of the fungus and produces a typical fungal fruiting body. The mycelium of T. viride can produce a variety of enzymes, including cellulases and chitinases which can degrade cellulose and chitin respectively. The mould can grow directly on wood, which is mostly composed of cellulose, and on fungi, the cell walls of which are mainly composed of chitin. It parasitizes the mycelia and fruiting bodies of other fungi, including cultivated mushrooms, and it has been called the "green mould disease of mushrooms". The affected mushrooms are distorted and unattractive in appearance and the crop is reduced. Trichoderma viride is the causal agent of green mold rot of onion. A strain of Trichoderma viride is a known cause of dieback of Pinus nigra seedlings. In rare cases it can infect immunocompromised humans, and is associated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, blood cancers, or solid organ transplant.

Uses The fungicidal activity makes T. viride useful as a biological control against plant pathogenic fungi. It has been shown to provide protection against such pathogens as Rhizoctonia, Pythium and even Armillaria. It is found naturally in soil and is effective as a seed dressing in the control of seed and soil-borne diseases including Rhizoctonia solani, Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium species. When it is applied at the same time as the seed, it colonizes the seed surface and kills not only the pathogens present on the cuticle, but also provides protection against soil-borne pathogens. A closely related species, Trichoderma reesei, is used in the creation of stonewashed jeans. The cellulase produced by the fungus partially degrade the cotton material in places, making it soft and causing the jeans to look as if they had been washed using stones.

References

External links Index Fungorum USDA ARS Fungal Database

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trichoderma viride

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trichoderma viride claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trichoderma viride before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trichoderma viride ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trichoderma viride

In research: Trichoderma viride appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trichoderma viride in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trichoderma viride is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fungal plant pathogens and diseases, Fungi described in 1794, Fungi of Europe, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trichoderma viride outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Trichoderma viride in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trichoderma viride means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trichoderma viride out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trichoderma viride in simple terms?

Trichoderma viride is a fungus and a biofungicide. It is used for seed- and soil treatment for suppression of various diseases caused by fungal pathogens.

Why does Trichoderma viride matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trichoderma viride?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trichoderma viride.