Models of plant-pathogen coevolution.
Plant populations are often genetically polymorphic for resistance to pathogens. The effectiveness of this resistance is limited because the pathogens are, in turn, polymorphic for virulence genes that can evade plant resistance. Theoretical models and intriguing preliminary data suggest that these plant-pathogen polymorphisms are maintained by continual cycles of coevolution within populations, combined with occasional immigration of new virulence and resistance genes from distant populations.
Frank
S A
SA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine 92717.
D005075:Biological Evolution; D017343:Genes, Plant; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic