What is it about?
Despite earlier assumptions, host jumps are a cornerstone in the evolution of pathogens that depend on living hosts for nutrition. Here, I conclude that pathogens evolve by host jumps, followed by radiation, specialisation, and speciation. If pathogens are unable to evolve into neutral to mutualistic relationships, they will eventually be removed from their hosts. Thus, plant pathogens have to jump hosts to survive in the course of evolution.
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Why is it important?
This model explains how pathogens diversified in the past and also helps to understand current epidemics in agriculture and natural ecosystems.
Perspectives
I feel that the model outlined in the review provides several hypotheses regarding pathogen evolution that can now be tested. This will hopefully help to achieve a better understanding of evolutionary processes in plant (and other) pathogens.
Marco Thines
Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An evolutionary framework for host shifts – jumping ships for survival, New Phytologist, August 2019, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/nph.16092.
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