Data from: Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) profiling to identify and characterize <i>Trichoderma</i> isolates with biological control agent potential

The research dataset represents fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles from eight Californian strains of <i>Trichoderma </i>sp.. These <i>Trichoderma </i>were originally collected for testing as fungal biological control agents of grapevine diseases, and were demonstrated to provide such control against fungal canker pathogens in pruning wounds. The eight strains are members of one of six species: <i>Trichoderma asperellum</i> strain TLI, <i>Trichoderma capillare</i> strains KC2-2 and SLO1-1, <i>Trichoderma harzianum</i> strains KC1-1 and PAR3, <i>Trichoderma saturnisporopsis</i> strain RSI, <i>Trichoderma </i>sp. DL1-3 strain DL1-3, and <i>Trichoderma </i>sp. PAR10 strain PAR10. As a way to further characterize these strains physiologically, the fatty acids were extracted from pure cultures grown for a week on potato dextrose agar. These fatty acids were mostly comprised of those that made up the cell membranes. The fatty acids were then transformed into methyl esters (i.e. fatty acid methyl esters, or FAMEs) for better analyses on a gas chromatograph (GC). Acquired FAMEs were identified by comparison with a standardized FAME mix and the use of Kovats indices. The FAMEs from each strain generated a profile, which this dataset represents. These data can be used with other data of FAME profiles to allow better characterization of these strains with others from <i>Trichoderma</i> or replated fungal genera.