Does selection by resistant hosts trigger local adaptation in plant-pathogen systems?

Understanding the consequences of selection by host resistance on pathogen population structure provides useful insights into the dynamics of host-parasite co-evolution processes and is crucial for effective disease management through resistant cultivars. We tested general vs. local population adaptation to host cultivars, by characterizing a French collection of Phytophthora infestans (the causal organism of potato late blight) sampled during two consecutive years on cultivars exhibiting various levels of resistance. Local populations were structured by the host for virulence (qualitative pathogenicity) but also for aggressiveness (quantitative pathogenicity). All populations had a low genotypic diversity for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), and presumably consisted of a few closely related clonal lineages. No correlation was detected between pathogenicity traits and AFLP genotypes. The data support the hypothesis of general adaptation for aggressiveness, to which directional selection for virulence is superimposed when race-specific resistance is introduced.