Bridging plant pathology and disease ecology: emerging insights into wild plant–pathogen systems

Abstract Major goals of disease ecology are to understand how disease dynamics and host–pathogen evolution shift across contexts and to apply lessons from natural populations to human-managed systems. These goals are especially pressing under rapid environmental change. Wild plant–pathogen systems are ideal for studying the complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics within and between natural and human-managed environments. Here, we review important recent contributions on the ecology and evolution of wild plant pathogens and introduce the articles in this theme issue, emphasizing their relevance to agriculture and the broader field of disease ecology. The articles in this issue are centred around three core themes where research on wild plant pathogens has enhanced our understanding of disease: (i) plant–pathogen responses to environmental change, (ii) evolutionary dynamics of wild plant–pathogen systems, and (iii) disease interactions between wild and cultivated plants. The featured articles span within-host to ecosystem levels covering a wide range of taxa and approaches. Together, these articles advance our fundamental understanding of disease and contribute knowledge useful in developing more sustainable plant health management strategies. We conclude by highlighting key gaps and avenues for future research into the ecological and genetic drivers of disease in wild plants and at the agro-ecological interface. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Wild plant pathosystems’.