What Can Phages Tell Us about Host-Pathogen Coevolution?

Figure 1

Fitnesses are shown for four parasite genotypes on each host genotype as implied by MA (left) and GFG (right) coevolutionary models. In the MA model, a parasite’s genotype must precisely match a host’s genotype in order to avoid recognition by the host’s immune system and reproduce in the host. One consequence is that the number of parasite alleles matches the number of host alleles. By contrast, in the GFG model, a host is susceptible to all parasites except those for which it has a corresponding resistance allele. In this scenario, parasite alleles can outnumber host alleles. Figure modified from [42, 44].