Statistical approach to determine the effect of combined environmental parameters on conidial development of Trichoderma atroviride (T-15603.1)
✍ Scribed by Dr. M. Schubert; S. Mourad; F. W. M. R. Schwarze
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2010
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 293 KB
- Volume
- 50
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0233-111X
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✦ Synopsis
Trichoderma atroviride (T-15603.1) is a promising fungal agent for biological control of wood decay fungi in urban tree wounds. The aim of this work was to determine the combined effects of water activity (a w , 0.998 -0.892), temperature (10 -30 °C) and pH (3 -7) on the development of conidia on low-nutrient agar (LNA). Lag phase prior to germination (h), germination rates (µ m ) and germ-tube elongation were obtained at each set of conditions. The experimental data were used to fit a response surface model for predicting the germination rates of T-15603.1 and to analyze the effect of the abiotic parameters tested. The polynomial response surface model was mathematically evaluated using graphical plots and several statistical indices (RMSE, %SEP, A f , B f , pRE). Data analyses showed a highly significant effect on conidial development of a w and temperature (P < 0.001), whereas no significant effect of pH (P ≥ 0.05) was observed. The germination rate dropped and the lag prior to germination increased as the temperature and a w decreased, but T-15603.1 appeared to be more sensitive to a w reduction than to temperature. The minimum a w level for germination was 0.910 at 15 -25 °C, and maximum germination rates were obtained at a w = 0.998, 25 -30 °C and pH 5. The response surface model was useful and widely accurate (R 2 = 0.983) for predicting the germination rate of T-15603.1 and complemented the experimental results. These findings contribute to better understanding how combined environmental factors affect the environmental parameter tolerance levels of T-15603.1 and to the development of an adequate delivery system for optimized application of T-15603.