Host-parasite Red Queen dynamics with phase-locked rare genotypes

What is it about?

Red Queen dynamics are observed in selected genotypes, whereas the rest of the genotypes remain subordinate in synchronized dynamics.

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Why is it important?

Interactions between hosts and parasites have been hypothesized to cause winnerless coevolution, called Red Queen dynamics. The canonical Red Queen dynamics assume that all interacting genotypes of hosts and parasites undergo cyclic changes in abundance through negative frequency-dependent selection, which means that any genotype could become frequent at some stage. However, this prediction cannot explain why many rare genotypes stay rare in natural host-parasite systems. To investigate this, we build a mathematical model involving multihost and multiparasite genotypes.