Mandy Gibson and third-year UVA undergraduate Anna Nguyen have published a study in Evolution Letters. They conducted a series of meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that host populations with reduced genetic diversity experience increased burdens of parasites relative to genetically diverse host populations. The results show that experimental increases in genetic diversity reduce parasitism by 20% in non-crop hosts and by 50% in crop hosts! You can read a blog post all about the article here:
Gibson, A.K. and Nguyen, A.E. (2020), Does genetic diversity protect host populations from parasites? A meta‐analysis across natural and agricultural systems. Evolution Letters. https://doi.org/10.1002/evl3.206