RT Journal Article
T1 Talaromyces pinophilus Strain HD25G2 as a Novel Biocontrol Agent of Fusarium culmorum, the Causal Agent of Root and Crown Rot of Soft Wheat
A1 Bennacer, Amel
A1 Sahir-Halouane, Fatma
A1 Álvarez Rubio, María Micaela
A1 Oukali, Zahia
A1 Bennacer, Nour El Houda
A1 Foughalia, Abdelhamid
A1 Delgado, Josué
AB Fusarium culmorum is the causal agent of root rot and crown rot in soft wheat. The aim of this study was to investigate the control mechanism of Talaromyces pinophilus HD25G2 as a biocontrol agent against F. culmorum. This involved the isolation and molecular identification of Fusarium and Talaromyces strains from soft wheat. The assay included the inhibition test of F. culmorum mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar and soft wheat media at two water activity values (0.98 and 0.95), its production of mycotoxins, and the fungal cell wall-degrading enzymes implicated in the antagonistic effect of T. pinophilus. The results showed that T. pinophilus and its extract free of cells reduced the growth of F. culmorum by over 55%. Interestingly, the T. pinophilus HD25G2 showed high chitinase, protease, and cellulose production on solid media. In addition, chitinolytic and proteolytic activities were estimated at the values of 1.72 ± 0.02UI and 0.49 ± 0.01UI, respectively. However, the mycotoxin evaluation assay revealed that F. culmorum HD15C10 produced zearalenone (ZEA) and the biocontrol agent enhanced its production, but the early inoculation of T. pinophilus, before F. culmorum growth onset, inhibited 100% its growth and, therefore, prevented the presence of ZEA. Hence, this strain can be proposed as a biocontrol agent against F. culmorum, and it can be further investigated for biocontrol of Fusarium root and crown rot in vivo.
PB MDPI
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/124624
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/124624
LA eng
NO Bennacer, A., Sahir-Halouane, F., Alvarez, M., Oukali, Z., Bennacer, N. E. H., Foughalia, A., & Delgado, J. (2025). Talaromyces pinophilus Strain HD25G2 as a Novel Biocontrol Agent of Fusarium culmorum, the Causal Agent of Root and Crown Rot of Soft Wheat. Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland), 11(8), 588. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11080588
NO Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.B. and J.D. methodology, A.B., M.A., N.E.H.B., A.F. and Z.O.; formal analysis, A.B. and M.A.; investigation, A.B. and M.A.; resources, A.B., Z.O., N.E.H.B., A.F. and J.D.; data curation, A.B.; writing—original draft preparation, A.B.; writing—review and editing, M.A.; visualisation, M.A.; supervision, F.S.-H., M.A. and J.D.; project administration, F.S.-H. and J.D.; funding acquisition, J.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript
NO Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Algerian)
NO General Directorate of scientific research and technological development  (Algerian)
NO University of Boumerdes
NO Junta de Extremadura
NO European Commission
DS Docta Complutense
RD 30 mar 2026