Microbial Symbionts in Plant–Insect Interactions

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue entitled "Microbial Symbionts in Plant–Insect Interactions" in Plants highlights the importance of unraveling complex ecosystems for advancing sustainable agriculture and preserving biodiversity. This edition keenly focuses on exploring the crucial roles of symbionts in plant–insect dynamics, investigating the fundamental roles of symbiotic microorganisms in governing the intriguing interactions between plants and insects. These interactions encompass, but are not limited to, influencing plant defense mechanisms against herbivorous insects, modulating insects' capacity to transmit plant viruses, and facilitating insects' adaptation to host plants. The intricate communication networks and biochemical pathways underpinning these interactions propel the study of microbial symbionts in plant–insect dynamics to the forefront of scientific exploration.

We warmly invite scholarly contributions that employ a diverse array of methodologies, encompassing, yet extending beyond, high-throughput sequencing techniques to unravel genomic or metagenomic foundations of symbiotic interactions, metabolomics to delineate metabolic pathways influenced by microbial activities, and computational modeling to forecast novel emergent properties within these intricate ecosystems. Understanding these mechanisms not only enhances our comprehension of ecological interdependencies but is also pivotal in devising innovative strategies for the impacts of global changes on ecosystems, including crop protection, sustainable agriculture, and biodiversity conservation.

This Special Issue aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of the tripartite interactions that constitute the architecture of ecosystems. It seeks to clarify the adaptive strategies developed by these organisms in adapting to environmental fluctuations that have led to such profound interdependencies and also to underscore practical implications for boosting agricultural output, preserving species variety, and enhancing ecosystem resilience. Your insightful contributions are eagerly awaited, as they hold the potential to elevate our understanding and propel this discipline to new frontiers.

Dr. Qiong Rao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• microbial symbiosis
• plant–insect interaction
• tripartite mutualism
• microbiome
• symbiont-mediated plant defense