Plant-Multi-Pathogen Interactions: A Growing Trend

Pathogen- host interactions involve competition, synergistic or cooperation and coexistence interactions. Host plant can also regulate niche battle among pathogens by defense response which target one or more pathogens either actively or passively. However, in general, virulent pathogens overcome the host defense strategies to infect it. Plant-pathogen interactions are mainly focused on single host-single disease model of infection. However, microbes occur in complex communities in nature and plant infections generally include more than one genotypes and show complexities which cannot be explained by single host-single disease model. Here, we discuss recent understandings about the host-multi-pathogen interactions and their effects on host resistance as well as susceptibility. Here we highlight the recent insights on co-infection systems and identify their future implications in plant disease epidemiology and management.