Studies in diverse biological systems have indicated that host–parasite co-evolution is responsible for the extraordinary genetic diversity seen in some genomic regions, such as major histocompatibility (MHC) genes in jawed vertebrates and resistance genes in plants. This diversity is believed to evolve under balancing selection on hosts by parasites. However, the mechanisms that link the genomic signatures in these regions to the underlying co-evolutionary process are only slowly emerging. We still lack a clear picture of the co-evolutionary concepts and of the genetic basis of the co-evolving phenotypic traits in the interacting antagonists. Emerging genomic tools that provide new options for identifying underlying genes will contribute to a fuller understanding of the co-evolutionary process.

在各种生物系统中的研究表明，宿主-寄生虫共同进化是某些基因组区域中异常遗传多样性的原因，例如，有颚脊椎动物中的主要组织相容性（MHC）基因和植物中的抗性基因。据信这种多样性是在寄生虫对宿主的平衡选择下进化的。但是，将这些区域中的基因组特征与潜在的共同进化过程联系起来的机制才刚刚出现。我们仍然缺乏共同进化概念和相互作用拮抗剂中共同进化表型性状的遗传基础的清晰图景。新兴的基因组学工具为鉴定潜在的基因提供了新的选择，将有助于人们对共同进化过程有更全面的了解。