Authors
Keith Clay, Paula X Kover
Publication date
1996/9
Source
Annual review of Phytopathology
Volume
34
Issue
1
Pages
29-50
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Description
▪ Abstract
The Red Queen Hypothesis (RQH) explains how pathogens may maintain sexual reproduction in hosts. It assumes that parasites become specialized on common host genotypes, reducing their fitness. Such frequency-dependent selection favors sexual reproduction in host populations. Necessary conditions are that resistance and virulence are genotype specific so that host genotype frequencies respond to changes in pathogen genotype frequencies, and vice versa. Empirical evidence on the genetic basis of disease, variation in resistance and virulence, and patterns of infection in sexual and asexual plants support certain features of the hypothesis. However, gene-for-gene interactions are generally not consistent with the RQH because they do not result in cycling of gene frequencies, unlike a matching allele mechanism. A conclusion of whether the RQH can explain the maintenance of sexual …
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Scholar articles
K Clay, PX Kover - Annual review of Phytopathology, 1996