The Genetic Basis of Disease Resistance in Natural Populations of Silene alba

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9615317 Antonovics Plants are assailed by a wide array of pathogens, and these are a serious problem in agriculture. However, the role of pathogens in determining the abundance of species in the wild is much less well understood; epidemics seem rarer, pathogens are less apparent, and effects on plant abundance are not always self- evident. Over the past ten years, Dr. Antonovics and his colleagues have used the anther-smut fungal disease of the plant white campion (Silene alba) as a model system to understand how pathogens impact natural populations. Individual plants differ in their susceptibility to the disease, but the genetic basis of this susceptibility is not understood. It is also not clear why populations do not become completely resistant; presumably the genes determining resistance have negative side-effects. This research will investigate whether one or several genes are involved in susceptibility, localize these genes using DNA markers, and investigate the causes of the resistance cost. Dr. Antonovics will also investigate whether the resistance is general to many pathogens or specific to just this one fungus. Identification of resistance genes will allow rigorous study of how these genes are distributed in nature, and of the role they play in rescuing plant populations from the disease. This research will improve understanding of how pathogens control plant populations, and will therefore be of direct relevance to biological weed control and conservation biology. It will also open the door for the possible use of these resistance genes in developing resistant transgenic crops.