Insects and microorganisms have developed various mutualistic relationships and regulatory mechanisms through long-term synergistic evolution, such as mutually beneficial symbiosis, pathogenic parasitism, and immune defense. Among these relationships, the insect gut microbiota plays a crucial role in regulating the interactions between the host and pathogens.
In most cases, the coexistence between insects and their microbial flora is mostly harmonious and beneficial to insects. These beneficial microorganisms influence host health and behavior in multiple ways, by providing specific nutrients that protect the host from predators, parasites, and pathogens, while contributing to host growth and development. The insect gut is colonized with a variety of commensal bacteria, which play an important role in host physiology, especially in regulating host immunity and the overcome of pathogen infection. The insect gut commensal microbiota inhibits most pathogens in the midgut and acts as a barrier.
Gut microbiota is recognized to be an important part of the biological immune system, and involved in mediating the host's resistance to pathogen infection, thus interrupting its transmission. Studying insect gut flora provides different applications for insect management, including the use of insecticidal gut bacteria to control pests and the use of vector insect gut commensal microbiota to interrupt disease transmission through insect vectors or to protect beneficial insects from infection.
This Research Topic aims to provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the research and development of new technologies for vector and pest control by investigating the relationship and interaction mechanism between vector insects and microorganisms. We welcome submissions focusing on, but not limited to, the following subtopics:
1. Interactions between insect intestinal flora and insect pathogens (fungi, bacteria and viruses)
2. Interaction between intestinal flora of vector insects and vector pathogens
3. Regulation mechanisms of insect intestinal flora and vector pathogens on insect immunity
Keywords: insect, gut flora, pathogens, immunity, interaction
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
