The Vocabulary of Trichoderma-Plant Interactions. In: Trichoderma: Host Pathogen Interactions and Applications.

In their natural environment, plants and microorganisms are persistently associated and communicating. This interaction is a finely tuned interplay triggered by chemical messages continuously exchanged by the actors. Recent studies confirm that the plant microbiome at root level is highly involved in many nutrient and biological processes. Commonly, soil and rhizosphere microbiome include species of Trichoderma genus, strongly influencing plant growth and differentiation and resistance to factors of abiotic and biotic stresses. Since we are imagining a molecular talk between the two interlocutors, here we produce the Trichoderma vocabulary, where we go through all its known "words". MAMPs will be described according to the classes listed below: microbial phytohormones (MP), proteins, secondary metabolites (SM) including microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs), other SM, and peptaibols. In the present vocabulary, we have included only those Trichoderma-secreted MAMPs for which a clear biological activity on plant has been demonstrated. In the present chapter, we aim at describing the factors known to participate in the multifaceted chatting between Trichoderma and its roommates, mainly the plant.