Differential transfer and dissemination of hypovirus and nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of a hypovirus-infected Cryphonectria parasitica strain after introduction into a natural population.

Biological control of plant diseases generally requires release of living organisms into the environment. Cryphonectria hypoviruses function as biological control agents for the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, and hypovirus-infected C. parasitica strains can be used to treat infected trees. We used naturally occurring molecular marker polymorphisms to examine the persistence and dissemination of the three genomes of a hypovirus-infected C. parasitica strain, namely, the double-stranded RNA genome of Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV1) and the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of its fungal host. The hypovirus-infected strain was experimentally introduced into a blight-infested chestnut coppice forest by treating 73 of 246 chestnut blight cankers. Two years after introduction, the hypovirus had disseminated to 36% of the untreated cankers and to 35% of the newly established cankers. Spread of the hypovirus was more frequent within treated sprout clusters than between sprout clusters. Mitochondrial DNA of the introduced fungus also was transferred into the resident C. parasitica population. Concomitant transfer of both the introduced hypovirus and mitochondrial DNA was detected in almost one-half of the treated cankers analyzed. The introduced mitochondrial DNA haplotype also was found in three resident isolates from newly established cankers. The nuclear genome of the introduced strain persisted in the treated cankers but did not spread beyond them.