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Abstract Trichodermafungi support sustainable agriculture by suppressing plant diseases and improving crop performance. However, emerging pathogenicity ofTrichodermawarrants further ecological and genetic characterization. Here we used machine learning to correlate genomic data from 37Trichodermastrains with over 140 phenotypic traits, spanning metabolic versatility, biotic interactions, stress tolerance and reproductive strategies. We determinedTrichodermato be an ancient, genetically cohesive and physiologically diverse genus with spores capable of germination in water and dispersal via air and water droplets. Metabolic preferences indicate universal adaptation to mycoparasitism and to niches like arboreal microbial mats, alongside broader saprotrophic versatility. Our analyses are consistent with character displacement among close relatives and convergent evolution in distant lineages, with both processes shaping ecological plasticity and traits including dispersal modes, terrestrialization or endophytism. Our findings reveal that while someTrichodermaspecies show traits of biosafety concern, its vast ecophysiological diversity enables the development of safe, targeted bioeffectors. 

ABSTRACT The filamentous mycoparasitic fungus Trichoderma asperelloides (Hypocreales, Ascomycota, Dikarya) strain T 203 was isolated from soil in Israel by the Ilan Chet group in the 1980s. As it has been the subject of laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments and has been incorporated into commercial agricultural preparations, its genome has been sequenced and analyzed.