The fitness costs to plants of resistance to pathogens.
It has long been predicted that genes giving resistance to pathogens impose a cost on the fitness of plants. A new study has shown this to be true for one resistance gene in Arabidopsis. This raises intriguing theoretical and practical questions about how generally the results apply and how such costs are controlled in plants carrying resistance genes to several different pathogens.
Burdon
Jeremy J
JJ
Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO, PO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. jeremy.burdon@csiro.au
Thrall
Peter H
PH
D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001947:Breeding; D005838:Genotype; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014774:Virulence