Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 14 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5613, pp. 1735 - 1737
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080070
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Evolution of Virulence in a Plant Host-Pathogen Metapopulation

Peter H. Thrall,* Jeremy J. Burdon

In a wild plant-pathogen system, host resistance and pathogen virulence varied markedly among local populations. Broadly virulent pathogens occurred more frequently in highly resistant host populations, whereas avirulent pathogens dominated susceptible populations. Experimental inoculations indicated a negative trade-off between spore production and virulence. The nonrandom spatial distribution of pathogens, maintained through time despite high pathogen mobility, implies that selection favors virulent strains of Melampsora lini in resistant Linum marginale populations and avirulent strains in susceptible populations. These results are consistent with gene-for-gene models of host-pathogen coevolution that require trade-offs to prevent pathogen virulence increasing until host resistance becomes selectively neutral.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)--Plant Industry, Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, General Post Office Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Peter.Thrall{at}csiro.au

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Diversity and Evolution of Effector Loci in Natural Populations of the Plant Pathogen Melampsora lini.
L. G. Barrett, P. H. Thrall, P. N. Dodds, M. van der Merwe, C. C. Linde, G. J. Lawrence, and J. J. Burdon (2009)
Mol. Biol. Evol. 26, 2499-2513
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Coevolution of Plants and Their Pathogens in Natural Habitats.
J. J. Burdon and P. H. Thrall (2009)
Science 324, 755-756
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Association Genetics Reveals Three Novel Avirulence Genes from the Rice Blast Fungal Pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae.
K. Yoshida, H. Saitoh, S. Fujisawa, H. Kanzaki, H. Matsumura, K. Yoshida, Y. Tosa, I. Chuma, Y. Takano, J. Win, et al. (2009)
PLANT CELL 21, 1573-1591
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dynamics of Introduced Populations of Phragmidium violaceum and Implications for Biological Control of European Blackberry in Australia.
D. R. Gomez, K. J. Evans, J. Baker, P. R. Harvey, and E. S. Scott (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 5504-5510
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Virulence-transmission trade-offs and population divergence in virulence in a naturally occurring butterfly parasite.
J. C. de Roode, A. J. Yates, and S. Altizer (2008)
PNAS 105, 7489-7494
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ustilago maydis populations tracked maize through domestication and cultivation in the Americas.
A. B Munkacsi, S. Stoxen, and G. May (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 1037-1046
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Polymorphism in Multilocus Host Parasite Coevolutionary Interactions.
A. Tellier and J. K. M. Brown (2007)
Genetics 177, 1777-1790
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Impact of scale on the effectiveness of disease control strategies for epidemics with cryptic infection in a dynamical landscape: an example for a crop disease.
C. A Gilligan, J. E Truscott, and A. J Stacey (2007)
J R Soc Interface 4, 925-934
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Stability of genetic polymorphism in host-parasite interactions.
A. Tellier and J. K.M Brown (2007)
Proc R Soc B 274, 809-817
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilization: The Accomplishments and Future of a Societal Insurance Policy.
P. Gepts (2006)
Crop Sci. 46, 2278-2292
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evolution of host resistance: looking for coevolutionary hotspots at small spatial scales.
A.-L. Laine (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 267-273
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rearrangements in the Cf-9 Disease Resistance Gene Cluster of Wild Tomato Have Resulted in Three Genes That Mediate Avr9 Responsiveness.
M. Kruijt, B. F. Brandwagt, and P. J. G. M. de Wit (2004)
Genetics 168, 1655-1663
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Host-parasite interactions and the evolution of ploidy.
S. L. Nuismer and S. P. Otto (2004)
PNAS 101, 11036-11039
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Melampsora lini AvrL567 Avirulence Genes Are Expressed in Haustoria and Their Products Are Recognized inside Plant Cells.
P. N. Dodds, G. J. Lawrence, A.-M. Catanzariti, M. A. Ayliffe, and J. G. Ellis (2004)
PLANT CELL 16, 755-768
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Effector Genes of Xanthamonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria Promote Transmission and Enhance Other Fitness Traits in the Field.
G. Wichmann and J. Bergelson (2004)
Genetics 166, 693-706
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)