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Fungal Pathology pp 149–170Cite as

Hypovirulence and Chestnut Blight: From the Field to the Laboratory and Back

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Abstract

Most of the pathogenic fungi discussed in this book have been reported to harbor viral-like double-stranded (ds) RNAs (Buck, 1986; Nuss and Koltin, 1990; Ghabrial, 1998). Correlation between the presence of extrachromosomal dsRNAs and attenuation of virulence (hypovirulence) for some pathogenic fungi have stimulated interest in these elements as potential biological control agents. Among these, the dsRNAs associated with hypovirulence of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr, are the best characterized (Nuss, 1992; Hillman et al., 1995; Nuss, 1996). However, interest in hypovirulence-associated dsRNAs extends past biological control potential to their utility as unique experimental tools for uncovering fundamental processes underlying fungal pathogenesis. The primary goals of this chapter are to provide the reader with a perspective of the journey that has seen C. parasitica hypovirulence progress from the field to the laboratory and to indicate how the unexpected fundamental insights derived from the exploitation of hypovirulence as an experimental system are being applied to facilitate a return to the field in the form of enhanced biological control potential.

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  1. Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 5115 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, Maryland, 20742-4450, USA

    Donald L. Nuss

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Nuss, D.L. (2000). Hypovirulence and Chestnut Blight: From the Field to the Laboratory and Back. In: Kronstad, J.W. (eds) Fungal Pathology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9546-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9546-9_6

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