Bacteria have a range of distinct immune strategies that provide protection against
bacteriophage (phage) infections. While much has been learned about the mechanism of …

Co-evolution between host and pathogen is, in principle, a powerful determinant of the
biology and genetics of infection and disease. Yet co-evolution has proven difficult to …

Symbiotic microbes have become increasingly recognized to mediate interactions between
natural enemies and their hosts. The ecologies of these symbioses, however, are poorly …

Balancing selection is an evolutionary process that maintains genetic polymorphisms at
selected loci and strongly reduces the likelihood of allele fixation. When allelic …

Bacteria and their viruses (phages) undergo rapid coevolution in test tubes, but the
relevance to natural environments is unclear. By using a “mark-recapture” approach, we …

Interactions between bacteria and the viruses that infect them (ie, phages) have profound
effects on biological processes, but despite their importance, little is known on the general …

Characteristics of hosts and parasites have a genetic basis, and thus can be shaped by
coevolution. Infections measured under laboratory conditions have shown that the …

It is a commonly held view that genetically homogenous host populations are more
vulnerable to infection than genetically diverse populations. The underlying idea, known as …

Owing to their evolutionary potential, plant pathogens are able to rapidly adapt to genetically
controlled plant resistance, often resulting in resistance breakdown and major epidemics in …

Ecological immunology is a rapidly expanding field that examines the causes and
consequences of variation in immune function in the context of evolution and of ecology …