We have analyzed a number of biocontrol strains of Trichoderma harzianum and other Trichoderma strains with the methods DNA fingerprinting and PCR fingerprinting to differentiate and identify these strain which is not possible with morphological or biochemical methods. We could differentiate even gamma-ray induced mutants from each other as well as different strains form the same and different species. The gamma-ray induced mutants are patented strains of Trichoderma harzianum and are used for biocontrol of wood-decaying fungi. The ability to differentiate the mutants is very important to identify the patent strain in nature because its "fingerprint" is unique and different of wildtypes of the same strain. Furthermore the two methods can be used to follow the path of a strain genotype in nature which could be of importance for ecological questions. We found that "DNA fingerprinting" as well as "PCR fingerprinting" are powerful methods for this task although PCR fingerprinting is faster.

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