Boosting plant immunity is an effective alternative to pesticides. However, environmental variations, accentuated by climate change, can compromise immunity. The robustness of a trait corresponds to the absence (or low level) of variation in that trait in the face of an environmental change. Here, we examined two types of robustness, robustness of immunity mean and robustness of immunity variation, and proposed nine quantitative robustness estimators. We characterized the immunity of a set of accessions representative of the natural diversity of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), to two major pathogens: the oomycete Phytophthora capsici Leon. and potato virus Y. For each pathogen, we measured the immunity of accessions in two contrasting environments in terms of temperature. For each type of robustness and each pathogen, the impact of temperature change on immunity varied between accessions. The robustness estimators proved to be complementary and differed in terms of heritability and ability to discriminate accessions. A positive and significant correlation was observed between immunity and robustness. There was no significant relationship between the robustness of immunity to the two pathogens, but some accessions showed high immunity and robustness against both pathogens. These results justify the need to consider both immunity and robustness to environmental variations in order to select varieties adapted to current and future climate conditions. Phenotypic robustness should also be considered when assessing the “value of sustainable cultivation and use” of future plant varieties, particularly during the application process for protection rights granted from the European Community Plant Variety Office.

中文翻译：

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揭示辣椒免疫力对温度变化的稳健性：为未来作物赋能的见解


增强植物免疫力是杀虫剂的有效替代品。然而，气候变化加剧的环境变化会损害免疫力。性状的稳健性对应于在面对环境变化时该性状不存在（或低水平）变异。在这里，我们研究了两种类型的稳健性，即免疫平均值的稳健性和免疫变异的稳健性，并提出了九个定量稳健性估计器。我们表征了一组代表辣椒 （Capsicum annuum L.） 自然多样性的种质对两种主要病原体的免疫力：卵菌 Phytophthora capsici Leon。和马铃薯病毒 Y。对于每种病原体，我们根据温度测量了种质在两种截然不同的环境中的免疫力。对于每种类型的稳健性和每种病原体，温度变化对免疫力的影响因种质而异。稳健性估计器被证明是互补的，并且在遗传力和区分种质的能力方面有所不同。观察到免疫力和稳健性之间存在正而显著的相关性。对两种病原体的免疫稳健性之间没有显著关系，但一些种质对两种病原体都表现出高免疫力和稳健性。这些结果证明，为了选择适应当前和未来气候条件的品种，需要考虑免疫力和对环境变化的稳健性。在评估未来植物品种的“可持续种植和利用的价值”时，特别是在申请欧洲共同体植物品种办公室授予的保护权的过程中，还应考虑表型稳健性。