Contrasting levels of genetic predictability in the evolution of resistance to major classes of fungicides

Abstract

The extent to which evolution is predictable, both phenotypically and at a genetic level (Stern & Orgogozo, 2009), has wide-ranging implications in evolutionary biology, especially in systems such as pathogens and cancers, where predicting future evolution would enable the design of more durable treatments (Lässig et al., 2017). The emergence of resistance to drugs and pesticides is an example of rapid, contemporary evolution. It has important practical implications for human health and wellbeing, both directly through clinical drug resistance (Hughes & Andersson, 2015) and through impacts on food production (Fisher et al., 2018). It can also provide useful case studies of repeated evolution under a defined novel selective pressure, which could address wider evolutionary questions, including questions concerning the repeatability of evolution. Resistance has evolved repeatedly across pest and pathogen taxa, including antibiotic resistance in clinical (Baker et al., 2018) and plant pathogens (Sundin & Wang, 2018), insecticide and herbicide resistance in agricultural pests and weeds (Gould et al., 2018), and

Directed evolution predicts cytochrome b G37V target site modification as probable adaptive mechanism towards the QiI fungicide fenpicoxamid in Zymoseptoria tritici

“…Parallel evolution is frequent in fungicide resistance (Hawkins et al ., 2019). A review of literature suggests that lab mutations associated with high RFs, and those found in multiple species, are more likely to be reported in the field (Hawkins and Fraaije, 2016, 2021). Altogether, our findings make the selection of G37V a realistic and most probable evolutionary scenario for Z. tritici populations exposed to fenpicoxamid selection pressure in the field, and suggest this could occur in both QoI-sensitive and resistant populations.…”

“…In the case of QoIs, their repeated and unrestricted use in the field (Bartlett et al ., 2002) quickly triggered the emergence of target site resistance in many fungal pathogens. This rapid emergence and spread occurred in multiple species (Hawkins and Fraaije, 2021), and had not been predicted. The most common resistance mutation leads to the G143A change, and has been selected in Z. tritici (Fraaije et al ., 2005) and repeatedly in many other pathogens (Hawkins and Fraaije, 2021).…”

Towards evolutionary predictions: current promises and challenges

“…Predictability (in the sense of repeatability) is also studied in the context of parallel or convergent evolution in natural systems. Examples of this approach include the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens in different patients (Lieberman et al 2011, Feder et al 2021, and herbicide resistance in different species or geographic areas (Kreiner et al 2019, Hawkins & Fraaije 2021.…”

Directed evolution predicts cytochrome b G37V target site modification as probable adaptive mechanism towards the QiI fungicide fenpicoxamid in Zymoseptoria tritici

“…This rapid emergence and spread occurred in multiple species (Hawkins and Fraaije, 2021), and had not been predicted. The most common resistance mutation leads to the G143A change, and has been selected in Z. tritici (Fraaije et al, 2005) and repeatedly in many other pathogens (Hawkins and Fraaije, 2021). In Z. tritici, resistance is now generalized in populations from Western Europe (Garnault et al, 2019;Kildea et al, 2019).…”