Rapid evolution in plants and their pests
/Molecular Shape-Shifting Qualities Of Plants And Pathogens Determine Survival
What makes a pathogen successful? What determines a plant’s ability to defend itself against an invader? The outcome of a myriad of encounters between plants and their pathogens have preoccupied humans since the dawn of agriculture. Crop diseases have a devastating economic impact that reaches billions of dollars annually and are a recurring global threat to food production (Horvath 2018). Discovering the key that unlocks the code of plant-pathogen interactions has motivated extensive research on the molecular determinants of pathogen virulence and plant resistance, and on devising strategies to apply this knowledge in modern agricultural practices.
