Up to 2000, Hypovirus CHV1 was the only hypovirus found in Europe.
Cryphonectria parasitica, the ascomycete fungus, originated in Asia and causes the disease
chestnut blight in several
chestnut species (
Castanea spp.). Although symptoms are mild in Asian chestnut species that have co-evolved with the fungus, they are very severe in the North
American chestnut species
C. dentata and also in the European sweet chestnut,
C. sativa. Hypovirus has been used for protection against chestnut blight in Europe since the 1970s. ==References==