Constraints on the Evolution of Disease Resistance in a Native Legume

自然和农业生态系统中的植物都容易受到致病微生物的攻击。最近对自然生态系统中植物的研究表明，植物对病原体具有一系列不同的抗病机制。然而，抗性的效果往往有很大的不同：一些植物表现出很强的抗性，而另一些植物则对疾病高度敏感。这项拟议的研究试图理解为什么自然群落中的植物并不总是成功地进化出防止病原体攻击的机制：在防止有效抗病能力的发展方面，哪些类型的限制是最重要的？该项目将重点研究一种植物的抗病能力，这是一种本土豆科植物。对非栽培植物及其病原菌的深入研究为深入了解植物对病原菌攻击的适应原理，特别是限制抗病进化的生理和遗传因素提供了机会。因此，研究植物在自然生态系统中面临的疾病问题可能也有助于制定更有效的农业疾病控制战略。

Plants in both natural and agricultural ecosystems are subject to attack by disease-causing microorganisms. Recent studies of plants in natural ecosystems have revealed that plants possess a range of different mechanisms of disease resistance toward pathogens. However, the effectiveness of resistance often varies considerably: some plants exhibit strong resistance, while others are highly susceptible to disease. The proposed research seeks to understand why plants in natural communities have not always been successful in evolving mechanisms to prevent pathogen attack: what types of constraints have been most important in preventing the development of effective disease resistance? The project will focus on disease resistance in one plant species, the native legume Amphicarpaea bracteata. The intensive study of non-cultivated plants and their pathogens provides the opportunity to develop general insights about principles of plant adaptation to pathogen attack, in particular, the physiological and genetic factors that limit the evolution of disease resistance. Studies of disease problems faced by plants in natural ecosystems may thus be useful also in designing more effective strategies of disease control in agriculture.