Contribution to identify the causal gents of Dutch elm disease in the Czech Republic
This study provides new data on Dutch elm disease in the Czech Republic. <I>Ophiostoma novo-ulmi</I> is reported for the first time in the area of the Czech Republic, as well as both subspecies ssp. <I>novo-ulmi</I> (indigenous in the area of the Ukraine and Moldavia), and ssp. <I>Americana</I> indigenous in North America. The majority of the recorded strains belonged to <I>O. n.-u.</I> ssp. <I>novo-ulmi</I>, while <I>O. n.-u.</I> ssp. <I>Americana</I> and hybrids of these two subspecies were found less frequently. On the other hand, <I>Ophiostoma ulmi</I> was not found at all in the investigated samples. Identification on the subspecies level was performed by methods of molecular biology, i.e. PCR and RFLP of gene regions<I> cu</I> and <I>col1</I>.