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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
The Evolutionary Consequences of Stepwise Infection Processes
Matthew D Hall1, Gilberto Bento2, Dieter Ebert3
1School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
Abstract:
Molecular and cellular studies reveal that the resistance of hosts to parasites and pathogens is a cascade-like process with multiple steps required to be passed for successful infection. By contrast, much of evolutionary reasoning is based on strongly simplified, one- or two-step infection processes with simple genetics or on resistance being a quantitative trait. Here we attempt a conceptual unification of these two perspectives with the aim of cross-fostering research and filling some of the gaps in our concepts of the ecology and evolution of disease. This conceptual unification has a profound impact on the way we understand the genetics and evolution of host resistance, ecological immunity, evolution of virulence, defence portfolios, and host-pathogen coevolution.
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