The Red Queen Hypothesis (RQH) explains how pathogens may maintain sexual reproduction in hosts. It assumes that parasites become specialized on common host genotypes, reducing their fitness. Such frequency-dependent selection favors sexual reproduction in host populations. Necessary conditions are that resistance and virulence are genotype specific so that host genotype frequencies respond to changes in pathogen genotype frequencies, and vice versa. Empirical evidence on the genetic basis of disease, variation in resistance and virulence, and patterns of infection in sexual and asexual plants support certain features of the hypothesis. However, gene-for-gene interactions are generally not consistent with the RQH because they do not result in cycling of gene frequencies, unlike a matching allele mechanism. A conclusion of whether the RQH can explain the maintenance of sexual reproduction cannot be reached at present. Nevertheless, the RQH theory has shed light on many aspects of plant/pathogen interactions important for reducing pathogen damage in agricultural systems.

中文翻译：

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红女王假说与植物/病原体的相互作用。

红女王假说（RQH）解释了病原体如何维持宿主的有性生殖。它假定寄生虫专门针对常见宿主基因型，从而降低其适应性。这种与频率有关的选择有利于宿主种群中的有性生殖。必要条件是抗性和毒力是特定的基因型，因此宿主基因型频率可响应病原体基因型频率的变化，反之亦然。关于疾病的遗传基础，抗性和毒力的变化以及有性和无性植物的感染方式的经验证据支持该假说的某些特征。但是，基因对基因的相互作用通常与RQH不一致，因为与匹配等位基因机制不同，它们不会导致基因频率循环。目前尚不能得出有关RQH是否可以解释维持性生殖的结论。然而，RQH理论阐明了植物/病原体相互作用的许多方面，这些方面对于减少农业系统中的病原体损害非常重要。