The evaluation of select Great Smoky Mountains National Park chestnut sites for the incidence of biological control agents of Cryphonectria parasitica
Double ML, MacDonald WL, Taylor GM. The evaluation of select Great Smoky Mountains National Park chestnut sites for the incidence of biological control agents of Cryphonectria parasitica. Pages poster. In 5th International Chestnut Symposium. National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV. September 4-8, 2012
Over the course of two years (2010-2011), 159 cankers on 139 American chestnut trees were sampled on seven trails in the Great Smoky National Park (GRSM). Cryphonectria parasitica was recovered from all cankers at a rate of >95%. Other fungi isolated included Trichoderma, Pestalotia and Penicillium. Vegetative compatibility (vc) testing, among the 64 EU vc testers, identified 52 vc groups among the GRSM isolates tested. Isolates from one canker were putatively identified as hypovirulent, based on morphology, dsRNA extraction, single sporing and pathogenicity testing. These data indicate that a high level of diversity exists among the C. parasitica population in the GRSM, suggesting that there may be significant genetic restriction to hypovirus transmission that, in turn, may limit biological control.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Double, Mark; MacDonald, William; Taylor, Glenn
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- American Chestnut, biological control agents, Castanea dentata, Cryphonectria parasitica, Fungi, GRSM-01039, hypovirus, Penicillium, Pestalotia, Trichoderma