In host-parasitoid communities, hosts are subjected to selective pressures from numerous parasitoid species, and parasitoids may attack several host species. The specificity of host resistance and parasitoid virulence is thus a key factor in host-parasitoid coevolution. A continuum of strategies exists, from strict specificity to a generalist strategy. The optimal level of specificity may differ in host and parasitoid. I investigated the optimal level of resistance specificity using a model in which the host could be attacked by two parasitoid species, with variable levels of defense specificity. The fitness of a parasitoid attacking two host species with different levels of virulence specificity was also modeled. Finally, a fluctuating environment was simulated by introducing variable probabilities of encounters between antagonistic species over several generations. If the frequency of encounters with the antagonistic species is fixed, then both host and parasitoid gain from a strategy of exclusive specialization toward the most frequent antagonist. If the frequency of encounters fluctuates between generations, generalist host resistance and partially specialist parasitoid virulence are favored. Generalist host resistance may be considered to be a bet-hedging response to an unpredictable environment. This asymmetry in host-parasitoid coevolution may account for some of the genetic structures observed in the field for host-parasitoid associations.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/341020 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Trained Decoy Nanocages Confer Selective Cuproptosis and Metabolic Reprogramming for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Targeting Therapy.
ACS Nano
January 2025
Department of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China.
Nonantibiotic strategies are urgently needed to treat acute drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia. Recently, nanomaterial-mediated bacterial cuproptosis has arisen widespread interest due to its superiority against antibiotic resistance. However, it may also cause indiscriminate and irreversible damage to healthy cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEntomopathogenic Nematode Species Vary in Their Behavior and Virulence in Response to Cardiac Glycosides Within and Around Insect Hosts.
J Chem Ecol
January 2025
Department of Nematology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Plants produce defensive toxins to deter herbivores. In response, some specialized herbivores evolved resistance and even the capacity to sequester toxins, affecting interactions at higher trophic levels. Here, we test the hypothesis that potential natural enemies of specialized herbivores are differentially affected by plant toxins depending on their level of adaptation to the plant-herbivore system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAM fungus plant colonization rather than an Epichloë endophyte attracts fall armyworm feeding.
Mycorrhiza
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China.
Most cold-season grasses can be colonized by belowground arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and foliar grass endophytes (Epichloë) simultaneously while also be attacked by insect herbivores. The colonization of AM fungi or the presence of grass endophytes is associated with increased resistance by the host plant. However, studies on how these two symbionts affect host plants and mitigate insect pest attack are currently lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFcoordinates the IL-10 inducing activity of .
Microbiol Spectr
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Unlabelled: The intestine is home to a complex immune system that is engaged in mutualistic interactions with the microbiome that maintain intestinal homeostasis. A variety of immune-derived anti-inflammatory mediators have been uncovered and shown to be critical for maintaining these beneficial immune-microbiome relationships. Notably, the gut microbiome actively invokes the induction of anti-inflammatory pathways that limit the development of microbiome-targeted inflammatory immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA flagella-dependent jumbo phage controls rice seedling rot and steers toward reduced virulence in rice seedlings.
mBio
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural & Applied Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Bacteriophages (phages) are being investigated as potential biocontrol agents for the suppression of bacterial diseases in cultivated crops. Jumbo bacteriophages, which possess genomic DNA larger than 200 kbp, generally have a broader host range than other phages and therefore would be useful as biocontrol agents against a wide range of bacterial strains. Thus, the characterization of novel jumbo phages specific for agricultural pathogens would be of importance for the development of phage biocontrol strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!