Applications of Evolutionary Theory in Agriculture: Population Genomics of Crop Pathogens and Disease Management

What it is about

You will learn how evolutionary processes and genome changes in plant pathogens arise and what consequences they have for the control of plant pests. By the end you will be able to interpret genomic findings, implement epidemiological and coevolution models in R, and derive strategies for disease control from them.

What you will be able to do

• Understanding evolutionary mechanisms in pathogen populations
• Description of genome changes and their causes
• Analysis of published whole-genome studies on plant pathogens
• Construction and simulation of simple epidemiological models in R (e.g., SIR/SEIR)
• Modeling and analysis of host–parasite coevolution in R
• Integration of evolutionary aspects into the development of disease management strategies
• Basic knowledge in programming with R and in basic statistics for plant pathology

What the module consists of

• VorlesungIntroduction to concepts of evolutionary genomics, pathogen genomics, epidemiology and coevolution
• Übung (R‑Praktika)Implementation and simulation of the presented models (genetic drift, recombination, SIR/SEIR, coevolution)
• Seminar/PräsentationGroup presentations on case studies from the population genomics of plant pathogens and critical discussion of management strategies

Teaching method

• Abwechselnde Vorlesung und ÜbungenConcepts are introduced and then deepened through R implementations and simulations
• Gruppenarbeit und DiskussionFosters exchange, critical analysis and presentation skills in case studies