Trichoderma citrinoviride (teleomorph Hypocrea schweinitzii, Ascomycota, Dikarya) is a very frequent soil fungus from the Longibrachiatum clade of the genus Trichoderma. The teleomorph is growing on wood and bark of deciduous and coniferous trees, particularly on cut areas, often in exposed habitats on piled wood. T. citrinoviride is widely distributed with teleomorph ranging from north-temperate to subtropical (Europe, North America) climates; the anamorph has been isolated from all continents including Antarctica.
Together with T. longibrachiatum, T. citrinoviride is one of the most common members of Trichoderma communities isolated from soil. Although these two species easily distinguished by DNA markers their morphological differences are equivocal. Both species have their growth optimum at 35 - 36°C and moreover exhibit one the highest growth rates in the genus. Similar to T. longibrachiatum, but much less frequently, T. citrinoviride has also been detected as an opportunistic pathogen of immunocompromised humans and in sputum and sinus of healthy patients. In addition, T. citrinoviride has been detected as a colonizer of basidiomycetes (e.g. Lentinula spp.)
T. citrinoviride is phylogenetically close to Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina) and T. longibrachiatum. Its genome sequence and comparative analysis with other Trichoderma species is therefore expected to yield understanding what made an environmental opportunistic fungus an opportunistic human pathogen, and to complement the genetic resources for industrial enzyme production.