Rapid evolution of introduced tree pathogens via episodic selection and horizontal gene transfer

Abstract

Routine selection is simply defined as “the ecological constraints experienced by an endemic organism that favor a relatively stable but fluctuating population structure over time.” Its antithesis is episodic selection, defined as “any sudden ecological disturbance likely to lead to a significant alteration in a species’ population structure” (Brasier 1986, 1995). In plant pathogens, examples of episodic selection are common in the context of modern anthropogenically driven disturbance conditions such as sudden exposure to crop monoculture or to a new fungicide, host, or vector; or sudden introduction into a new biogeographic zone; an increasingly frequent event because of increasing international trade in plants.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the fourth international workshop on the genetics of host-parasite interactions in forestry: Disease and insect resistance in forest trees

Citation

Brasier, Clive. 2012. Rapid evolution of introduced tree pathogens via episodic selection and horizontal gene transfer. In: Sniezko, Richard A.; Yanchuk, Alvin D.; Kliejunas, John T.; Palmieri, Katharine M.; Alexander, Janice M.; Frankel, Susan J., tech. coords. 2012. Proceedings of the fourth international workshop on the genetics of host-parasite interactions in forestry: Disease and insect resistance in forest trees. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-240. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 133-142.