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加拿大许多城市街道提供了荫凉和庇护。据估计，目前在加拿大各地的城镇中有70万棵榆树，但在上个世纪，城市规划者种植了数百万棵榆树，而这一数字已经减少了。病原菌新榆树病（Ophiostoma novoo -ulmi）选择性地杀死了大部分种植在北美的榆树，这让城市规划者感到沮丧。目前还没有有效控制这种特别具有侵略性的植物病原体，荷兰榆树病仍未得到控制。我们正在努力通过发展以传染性病毒为基础的疾病控制，对这种病原体进行生物控制。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点，以找到削弱这种侵袭性病原体的方法。我们提出用双链RNA （dsRNA）低病毒感染病原菌可以达到控制真菌的目的，该病毒已被修饰为针对该真菌致病性必需的基因。如果在O. novoo -ulmi中得到证实，则可以为许多真菌病原体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.