Biological control of ophiostoma novo-ulmi, the causal agent of Dutch elm disease

榆树是北美城市景观的重要经济特征。 它们优雅的树干和宽阔的树枝为沿着许多加拿大城市的街道提供了阴凉和遮蔽。据估计，目前在加拿大的城镇中有70万棵榆树，但在过去的世纪，城市规划者种植了数百万棵榆树。致病真菌Ophiostoma novo-ulmi通过选择性地杀死北美种植的大多数榆树而使城市规划者感到沮丧。 目前还没有有效的控制，这种特别积极的植物病原体和荷兰榆树疾病仍然没有得到控制。 我们正在努力通过发展一种基于传染性病毒的疾病控制来发展对这种病原体的生物控制。 基于我们对这种真菌的功能基因组学和群体遗传学的研究，我们正在努力开发一系列真菌特异性靶标，以找到削弱这种侵略性病原体的方法。我们建议，真菌的控制可以通过感染病原体的双链RNA（dsRNA）hypovirus已被修改，以靶向基因的致病性，这种真菌。如果在O. novo-ulmi，可以为许多真菌病原菌的生物防治提供新的途径。

Elms are an economically important feature of urban landscapes across North America. Their elegant trunks and wide branches provide shade and shelter along many Canadian city streets. There are currently an estimated 700,000 elm trees in cities and towns across Canada however this has been reduced from the many millions of trees planted by urban planners during the past century. The pathogenic fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi has frustrated urban planners by selectively killing most of the elm trees planted in North America. There is currently no effective control for this particularly aggressive phytopathogen and Dutch elm disease remains unchecked. We are working towards developing a biological control for this pathogen through the development of a transmissible viral-based disease control. Building upon our research on the functional genomics and population genetics of this fungus we are working towards developing a series of fungal-specific targets to find ways to debilitate this aggressive pathogen. We propose that control of the fungus may be achieved by infecting the pathogen with a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) hypovirus that has been modified to target genes essential to the pathogenicity of this fungus. The improved targeting of transmissible hypovirulence, if proven in O. novo-ulmi, could provide a new approach to the biological control of many fungal pathogens.