Trichoderma spp. Antagonism to the Dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum: Implications in Treatment of Onychomycosis

Onychomycosis--the dermatophytic invasion of the nail--is difficult to eradicate with drug treatment. The hyphae of the main invading pathogen, Trichophyton rubrum, are often interwoven with the nail plate, preventing effective anti-mycotic agents from reaching its growing tips. An alternative approach to treat onychomycosis may possibly be the application of a biological control agent against the pathogen. In analogy with the success of biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi, we screened a series of commercially available Trichoderma strains for potential antagonism between Trichoderma and Trichophyton spp. A wide spectrum of antagonism capacity, ranging from effective overgrowth to no interaction was found, with Trichoderma virens NRRL 26672 being the most effective against the Trichophyton strains tested e.g. T. rubrum NCPF118. Furthermore, T. virens NRRL 26672 grown with T. rubrum NCPF118 hyphae as a carbon source, exhibited enhanced induced secretion of active extracellular chitinases and beta-glucosidases, affecting lysis and sporulation on T. rubrum NCPF118 hyphae. Growth of Trichod. virens NRRL 26672 in poor medium also resulted in secretion of antibiotics active in arresting the growth of T. rubrum NCPF118 inoculum. Our findings may open new directions for the treatment of onychomycosis, either in combination with known medications or as a new "natural" route.