[1] This fungal species is of particular interest to researchers due to the plethora of secondary metabolites it makes which are used in industry[1] The genus Trichoderma is known for its ubiquity in almost all soils and being easy to culture.

An abbreviated taxonomic description is as follows: Eukaryota; Fungi; Dikarya; Ascomycota; Pezizomycotina; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreomycetidae; Hypocreales; Hypocreaceae; Trichoderma.

[9] T. atroviride is a mycoparasite saprophyte, meaning it parasitizes other fungi and it obtains its food by absorbing dissolved organic matter.

They are used as natural biocontrol agents for both insects and other fungi,[13] they can take up heavy metal pollutants,[14] and they are used as model organisms to better understand the genetic control of light dependent mechanisms.

Specifically, T. atroviride can compete for nutrients and produce fungi cell wall degrading enzymes to kill its host fungus.

[18] Additionally, T. atroviride are currently being explored as a method to defend crops against insects due to their ability to produce natural insecticides which they protect themselves with, so they are not eaten.

A good model organism for this research is one that has a clear relationship to an abiotic stimulus that's easy to replicate and has an easily manipulable genome.