genetic resistance
Inborn disease defense
Genetic resistance is the inherited ability to withstand disease, pests, or environmental stresses.
The term appears most often in agriculture and medicine: Researchers bred wheat varieties with genetic resistance to rust fungus.
A population's genetic resistance to a pathogen can develop over generations of exposure, as those without resistance die before reproducing.
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- alleleGene variant at one locus
- gene poolSpecies' total genetic diversity
- coevolutionReciprocal adaptation between interacting species
natural selection · survival of the fittest · selective pressure · blight · GMOs · biocontrol agents · vaccine development · immune response · epigenetics · trait · gene expression · inherited trait · strain · offspring · selective breeding · breeding program · crossbreeding · pathogen