Testing the efficiency of natural hypovirulence for biological control of chestnut blight under field conditions.

ABSTRACT: Global increases in connectivity have greatly accelerated the frequency of biological invasions across most of Earth's ecosystems, including forests. Once invasive organisms become established in a naïve environment, they are difficult to eradicate or contain; thus, management strategies often focus on mitigating their impacts. As the use of chemical pesticides in forests is increasingly prohibited, biological control of pests and diseases has gained importance as an environmentally friendly alternative. Virus-mediated hypovirulence in the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica is one of the few successful examples of biological control of an invasive forest pathogen. However, experiments testing the stability of this system in situ are still missing. In this study,

SUBMITTER: Prospero S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12865391 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature