1. Describe the gene-for-gene model in terms of our current mechanistic understanding of plant-pathogen interactions.
2. You are interested in developing varieties that are resistant to pests, but you know that resistance is often non-durable, so you want to also include tolerance (in case the resistance breaks down). Pick a pest (pathogen or arthropod) and outline how you would develop a variety that is both resistant and tolerant. Include information about the type of resistance, and how you would screen for resistance vs. tolerance. Is there any reason to not focus on tolerance alone?
3. What are the important categories (or guilds) of (a) plant pathogens and (b) herbivorous arthropods that determine plant defensive responses? How (and why) do those defenses differ between categories in each case: (a) pathogens and (b) arthropods?
4. Pick one component of plant disease resistance that you think would make a good target for engineering novel (and durable) resistance, and explain why you think this would be durable.
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