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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Optimization Of Engineered Super Donor Strains Of Cryphonectria Parasitica To Reduce Canker Expansion In A Forest Setting, Amy Michelle Metheny
Optimization Of Engineered Super Donor Strains Of Cryphonectria Parasitica To Reduce Canker Expansion In A Forest Setting, Amy Michelle Metheny
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Chestnut blight, caused by the non-native fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, has decimated American chestnut (Castanea dentata) populations throughout the eastern U.S. over the last century. Biological control of blight, termed hypovirulence, has emerged naturally in the form of a debilitating hypovirus transmitted through hyphal anastomosis among vegetatively compatible C. parasitica strains. Six unlinked vegetative incompatibility (vic) loci regulate hyphal anastomosis and thus, hypovirus transmission, which has limited biocontrol efficacy in genotypically diverse communities. Recently, four of six vic loci have been disrupted to engineer two “super donor” or SD strains. In combining these strains, enhanced transmission …
Elucidating Disease Dynamics In The Biocontrol Of Ailanthus Altissima While Confirming The Host Specificity Of The Vascular Wilt Pathogen Verticillium Nonalfalfae, Kristen L. Wickert
Elucidating Disease Dynamics In The Biocontrol Of Ailanthus Altissima While Confirming The Host Specificity Of The Vascular Wilt Pathogen Verticillium Nonalfalfae, Kristen L. Wickert
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Ailanthus altissima is a highly invasive exotic tree species entrenched throughout the United States. Since the discovery of a vascular wilt disease of Ailanthus in 2002, caused by the fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae, many studies are investigating its potential as a biocontrol focusing on efficacy, host specificity and disease transmission. This study addresses: the reproductive potential of Ailanthus; if V. dahliae alters Verticillium wilt progression; if hardiness zones influence the individual contributions of two Verticillium spp.; can a unique habitat affect biocontrol efficacy; and can the fungal proteome of V. nonalfalfae allow us to explain differences in host …