MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF TRICHODERMA ISOLATES FROM EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE WASTES-RICH SOIL

Abstract

Twenty isolates of Trichoderma were recovered from lignocellulosic agriculture wastes-rich soil collected from different Egyptian cities (Sadat, Tala, Abo Hamad, Belbeis, Zagazig, Mansoura, Belqas, Kafer-Elshikh, Bella, Tanta, Borg El Arab, Banha, Kafr Shoker, Qalyoub, Shebien Elqanater, Damanhur, Abu al-Matamir, Damietta, Kafr al-Battikh, and Kafr Saad). The Trichoderma isolates were first identified morphologically using conidiophore branching type and conidium morphology. Furthermore, molecular identification based on the ITS (internal transcribed spacers) barcode differentiated between Trichoderma isolates having 98.6% to 100% identity with two Trichoderma species: T. asperellum and T. longibrachiatum. Qualitative and quantitative tests were used for screening the cellulolytic activity of these isolates. The isolates were screened for cellulase production based on the clearing zone diameters and calorimetrically tested on minimal media supplemented with sugar cane bagasse and rice straw as sole carbon sources. The isolates TM41 (T. longibrachiatum) and TM35 (T. asperellum) exhibited the highest diameters of clear zones and showed higher Fpase and CMCase activities. Moreover, the isolate TM18 of T. asperellum displayed the highest diameters of clear zones and showed higher Fpase and Xylanase activities.