Beyond Pests: Insights into Aphid–Bacterial Symbiotic Associations
A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 May 2026 | Viewed by 35
Special Issue Editors
Interests: genetics; evolutionary biology; genomics; pest insects; aphids; aphid parasitoids; bacterial symbionts; bio-logical invasions
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Aphids rely on bacterial endosymbionts that significantly influence their survival, ecology, and evolution. The obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola supplies essential amino acids that are missing from the phloem diet, thereby ensuring host growth and reproduction. Facultative symbionts provide context-dependent advantages, including protection against natural enemies, tolerance to thermal stress, and expansion of host plant range. Through parthenogenetic reproduction with telescoping generations, these facultative partners also generate heritable phenotypic variation. Such microbial associations influence aphid fitness, population dynamics, and agricultural impact, while genomic evidence underscores their deep coevolution. Understanding these interactions offers new avenues for sustainable pest management and insights into insect diversification.
In this volume, we invite colleagues working on aphid–symbiont interactions to present original papers that focus on a deeper understanding of how bacterial symbionts may contribute to aphid invasiveness and infestation. As editors, we encourage researchers to submit papers on the broad range of biological and agronomic consequences of aphid–symbiont interactions, from molecular crosstalk to ecological and evolutionary perspectives, including laboratory and field surveys, and their implications for pest management. Contributions that merely describe the presence/absence of bacterial symbionts without a molecular, ecological, or agronomical framework will not be considered for publication.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Christian C. Figueroa
Guest Editor
Dr. Daniela A. Sepúlveda
Co-Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- aphid bacterial symbionts
- obligate endosymbionts
- facultative endosymbionts
- aphid pests
- invasive aphids
- global pests
- aphid host-range
- protection to natural enemies
- thermal tolerance
- climate change
- aphid–symbiont crosstalk
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