GENE-FOR-GENE COEVOLUTION BETWEEN PLANTS AND PARASITES

The concept of gene-for-gene coevolution is a major model for research on the evolution of resistance against parasites in crop plants, reciprocal evolution between species in natural plant populations, and mathematical models of the dynamics of coevolution. Recent studies have begun to challenge the prevailing view that natural selection within local plant populations is the major evolutionary process driving this form of coevolution. The emerging pattern from these studies suggests that metapopulation structure, including the effects of gene flow and genetic drift, may be at least as important as local natural selection in determining the genetic dynamics and outcomes of these evolutionary arms races.