Odi Et Amo: Diversity of Insect–Microbe Interactions, from Antagonism to Mutualism, and Their Manipulation for Pest Control
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 10408
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Interests: endophytes; plant pathogens; entomopathogens; biocontrol; bioactive fungal products; marine fungi
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: insect immunity; molecular entomology; parasitic interactions; pest control; entomopathogens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Microbes associated with insects are mostly regarded as antagonists or competitors to be exploited in biocontrol. Indeed, entomopathogens diversified a plethora of sophisticated strategies to counter insect immune and behavioral defenses, through a long coevolutionary arms race. Fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens may have dramatic effects on insect populations, representing important biocontrol agents toward pest insects and a serious threat to managed insects, such as honey bees. Moreover, microbes can establish mutualistic interactions with insects by providing a range of beneficial effects or functional traits allowing their hosts to adapt to novel ecological niches. So far, microbial mutualists have been basically characterized for supporting their host insects in the confrontation with plants, pathogens, parasitoids and predators. Nevertheless, they can also influence insects’ response to abiotic stressors, determining their sensitivity toward toxicants, thermal tolerance and drought resistance. As such, microbial symbionts can interact by either expanding or constraining their hosts’ adaptations to novel habitats and response to environmental fluctuations. A thorough knowledge of these interactions is fundamental for a better understanding of their impact on insect populations, also in the aim of disrupting them to contrast pests. This Special Issue has been launched to set up a collection of contributions examining the outcome of ecological and molecular interactions between insects and their microbial associates, resulting from both observations concerning natural contexts and investigations on model systems carried out in the laboratory.
Dr. Rosario Nicoletti
Dr. Andrea Becchimanzi
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- insect microbiome
- microbial symbionts
- entomopathogens
- ecological relationships
- molecular relationships
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