(S4:E45) Blights Get Sick Too: Chestnut Blight and Hypovirulence
From I See Dead Plants by Ed Zaworski
December 31, 2025 · 56 min · Season 4 · Episode 45
About this episode
Ed interviews Dr. Danielle Mikolajewski about her research on chestnut blight and hypovirulence.
In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Danielle Mikolajewski a postdoctoral candidate in the plant pathology department at the University of Florida. Ed and Danielle discuss some of Danielle's Ph.D. research on chestnut blight and one of the methods being studied in attempt to bring back the American Chestnut; hypovirulence. Additional Resources https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/13033/ Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction to ICDeadPlants Podcast (10:04) Journey into Plant Pathology (19:52) Understanding Chestnut Blight (30:01) Exploring Hypovirulence and Its Implications (30:30) The Super Donor Concept (34:25) Challenges and Limitations of the Super Donor (38:47) Potential Environmental Impacts of Hypoviruses (42:57) The Importance of American Chestnut (45:47) Future of American Chestnut Research (49:33) Exploring Hypovirulence in Other Pathogens (52:44) Summarizing the Research Impact Zaworski, E. (Host) Mikolajewski, D. (Interviewee). S4:E45 (Podcast). Blights Get Sick Too: Chestnut Blight and Hypovirulence. 12/31/2025 . In I See Dead Plants . Crop Protection Network. Transcript
People in this episode
Host: Ed Zaworski
Guest: Dr. Danielle Mikolajewski
Topics covered
- chestnut blight
- hypovirulence
- plant pathology
- American Chestnut
- environmental impacts
- research
Keywords
- chestnut blight
- hypovirulence
- plant pathology
- American Chestnut
- environmental impacts
- research
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Florida
Books & works: I See Dead Plants, Crop Protection Network
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