COEVOLUTION WITH SPATIALLY STRUCTURED RICE LANDRACES MAINTAINS MULTIPLE
GENERALIST LINEAGES IN THE RICE BLAST PATHOGEN
Abstract
Traditional agrosystems, where humans, crops and microbes have coevolved
over long periods, can serve as models to understand the
eco-evolutionary determinants of disease dynamics and help the
engineering of durably resistant agrosystems. Here, we investigated the
genetic and phenotypic relationship between rice (Oryza sativa)
landraces and their rice blast pathogen (Pyricularia oryzae) in the
traditional Yuanyang terraces of flooded rice paddies in China, where
rice landraces have been grown and bred over centuries without
significant disease outbreaks. Analyses of genetic subdivision revealed
that indica rice plants clustered according to landrace names. Three new
diverse lineages of rice blast specific to the Yuanyang terraces
coexisted with lineages previously detected at the worldwide scale.
Population subdivision in the pathogen population did not mirror pattern
of population subdivision in the host. Measuring the pathogenicity of
rice blast isolates on landraces revealed generalist life histories. Our
results suggest that the implementation of disease control strategies
based on the emergence or maintenance of a generalist lifestyle in
pathogens may sustainably reduce the burden of disease in crops.