Diversity of Trichoderma species isolated from dead branches and sapwood of Theobroma cacao trees

The diversity of Trichoderma species associated with cacao trees in Bahia state, Brazil, was investigated. A total of 100 isolates, 76 from sapwood and 24 from dead branches, were characterized by phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA and the translation elongation factor (tef1) of the RNA polymerase. Sixteen known and five putative new species were identified among the isolates used in this study. Trichoderma lentiforme was the most abundant species and exclusively found in cacao sapwood while T. parareesei was the most abundant and exclusively isolated from dead branches. The knowledge on the diversity of these fungi may contribute to their future exploitation in biotechnological applications and biological control of plant diseases.