Traits Mechanisms of increased resistance or tolerance Resistance – tolerance - escape References
Whole plant
Plant growth form Architecture, branching, reiteration, leaf density, leaf arrangement, determinant growth Resistance and tolerance (Ando et al. 2007; Costes et al. 2013)
Plant lifespan Annuals support fewer pathogens than perennials Resistance and tolerance (Thrall et al. 1993)
Nutrient content Plants with high nutrient contents are more susceptible to pathogens Resistance and tolerance (Hoffland et al. 1996; El-Hajj et al. 2004; McElrone et al. 2005; Veresoglou et al. 2013; Fernández-Escobar 2019)
Plant height Increased stem height and vertical elongation slow disease progression Tolerance (Marquis et al. 2001; Robert et al. 2018)
Plant growth rate Slow growth rate (trade off with growth and resistance) Resistance (Hoffland et al. 1996; Parker & Gilbert 2018)
Canopy Shorter narrower canopy Resistance and tolerance (Kolkman & Kelly 2002)
Defense
Plant secondary compounds Production of cytokinins, flavonoids, phenols, H2O2, glucosynolates, non-protein amino acids, terpenes, phytoalexins, salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate, nicotine, furocoumarins Resistance (Bennett & Wallsgrove 1994; Erb et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2009; Hantsch et al. 2014; Akhtar et al. 2020; Noronha Souza et al. 2020)
Plant physical defense mechanisms Papillae, lignin, silicon, dense trichomes Resistance (Valkama et al. 2005; Chattopadhyay et al. 2011; Underwood 2012; Fernández-Escobar 2019; Zúñiga et al. 2019)
Defense priming Plants with inducible defense are more resistant to pathogens Resistance (Hilker et al. 2016)
Leaf characteristics
Leaf size, cuticle size Thickened leaf cuticle and epidermis can provide physical resistance against fungal pathogen infection. Resistance (Mendgen et al. 1996; Bradley et al. 2003; Carver & Gurr 2008; Serrano et al. 2014)
Stomata Lower stomatal density and stomatal index, stomatal function (closure) Resistance (Melotto et al. 2006; Chattopadhyay et al. 2011)
Leaf expansion rate Faster leaf expansion Resistance and tolerance (Marquis et al. 2001)
Leaf mass per area (LMA) Higher LMA, less airspace, and smaller cell sizes. Resistance and tolerance (Ďurkovič et al. 2013; Smith et al. 2018)
Shoot traits
Wood traits Higher wood density, higher parenchyma fraction, smaller xylem ray width and vessel diameter Resistance and tolerance (Augspurger & Kelly 1984; Romero & Bolker 2008; Morris et al. 2016)
Bark Smooth bark may decrease insect vectored pathogens Resistance (Ferrenberg & Mitton 2014)
Stem traits Narrow scattered vessels Tolerance (Solla et al. 2005; Pouzoulet et al. 2014)
Plant diameter Midrange peak in resistance with stem diameter Resistance and tolerance (Li et al. 2006)
Reproductive traits
Seed traits Small seeds, fast germination, hard seeds, shade tolerant species Resistance (Augspurger & Kelly 1984; Pringle et al. 2007; Solla et al. 2011; Beckstead et al. 2014)
Dispersal Greater dispersal distances Escape (Augspurger & Kelly 1984; Cazetta et al. 2008)
Flower Flower duration, Flower age, Style length, Nectar sugar concentration, Nectar sugar composition, Antimicrobial nectar, VOC Resistance (Stephenson 2012; McArt et al. 2014)
Plant propagation type Sexual reproduction increases genetic diversity Resistance and tolerance (Parker 1994; Busch et al. 2004)
Fruit Physical protection, smaller fruit Resistance (Cipollini et al. 2004; Beckman & Muller-Landau 2011)
Species genotype (chromosome) Higher ploidy Resistance (Oswald & Nuismer 2007; Harms et al. 2020)
Plant ontogeny Early senescence reduces disease outbreaks Tolerance (Robert et al. 2018)
Root traits
Root biomass Roots can serve as storage organs for regrowth after aboveground damage Tolerance (Erb et al. 2009)
Surface area Higher root surface area higher disease resistance Resistance (Singh et al. 2019)
Root growth rate and lifespan Faster growth and higher turnover, thin, low nitrogen content Resistance and tolerance (Yanai & Eissenstat 2002; Atucha et al. 2014)
Root diameter Larger diameter and biomass of secondary roots Resistance and tolerance (Solla et al. 2011)
Symbiosis
Mycorrhiza Plants forming mycorrhizal associations show more resistance against pathogen infection Resistance and tolerance (Whipps 2004; Sikes et al. 2009)
Endophytes Endophytes can induce resistance Resistance (Schardl et al. 2004; Dini-Andreote 2020)
Vectors (pollinators and herbivores) Types of pollinators can affect transport of different pathogens. For instance, specialist vs. Generalist. Generalists can transport more pathogens across different plant species compared to specialists. Escape (Shykoff & Bucheli 1995)
Rhizosphere bacteria Induce resistance to pathogens Resistance (van Loon et al. 1998; Van Wees et al. 2008; Zamioudis & Pieterse 2012)
Other
Species occurrence range pathogen richness was associated with range size for introduced plants. Resistance (Mitchell et al. 2010; Hantsch et al. 2014)
Species habitat Plants that occur in dry habitats have fewer pathogens than those in wet areas Resistance (Bradley et al. 2003)
Formation of monospecific stand Plants forming monospecific stands are more susceptible to pathogens Resistance (Burdon et al. 1989; Packer & Clay 2000; Clay et al. 2008; Mordecai 2011)