Dutch Elm Disease Research

Elm Breeding and Cytology.- 1. Why Bother About the Elm?.- 2. Seven Dutch Women Scientists Whose Early Research Is Basic to Our Knowledge of the "Dutch Elm Disease".- 3. The Dutch Elm Breeding Program.- 4. American Liberty Elms and Beyond: Going from the Impossible to the Difficult.- 5. Progress in the Development of Disease-Resistant Elms.- 6. An Old Problem; A New Approach.- 7. Demands and Opportunities for Selecting Disease-Resistant Elms.- 8. Cytological and Biochemical Aspects of Elm Improvement.- Tissue Culture & Toxins.- 9. Elm Improvement Via Biotechnological Methods.- 10. Micropropagation and Regeneration of DED-Resistant Elms Using Protoplast and Tissue Culture Techniques.- 11. Cerato-ulmin: A Unique Wilt Toxin of Instrumental Significance in the Development of Dutch Elm Disease.- 12. Amino Acid Sequence and Spectroscopic Studies of Dutch Elm Disease Toxin, Cerato-ulmin.- 13. Strategies for the Production of Disease-Resistant Elms.- 14. Development of Model Systems to Screen Elms Resistant to Dutch Elm Disease.- 15. Biological Control of Dutch Elm Disease by Exploiting Resistance in the Host.- Molecular Biology Approaches.- 16. Cloning of Pathogenesis-Related Genes from Ulmus americana.- 17. Mansonones, Elicitors and Virulence.- 18. Characterization of Isolates of Ophiostoma ulmi by Molecular Techniques.- 19. Genetic Diversity in Elms: What Molecular Data Tell Us.- 20. Mechanisms of Resistance: Can They Help Save Susceptible Elms?.- 21. Alterations of Vessel Elements and Reactions of Surrounding Tissues in the DED Syndrome.- 22. Conventional and Molecular Genetic Approaches to the Study of Pathogenicity in Ophiostoma ulmi sensu lato.- 23. DNA Polymorphism, Perithecial Size and Molecular Aspects of D Factors in Ophiostoma-ulmi and O. novo-ulmi.- 24. D Factors and Their Potential for Controlling Dutch Elm Disease.

Dutch elm disease is a serious affliction of elm trees that was introduced into North America several decades ago and has essentially eliminated the American elm as an important shade tree and source of wood. This book summarizes recent research into Dutch elm disease and emphasizes the novel approaches that are being used to attack the problem by using tissue culture and molecular biology.