Insect-Microbe Interaction in Sericulture: An Approach for Sustainable Pest Management, Productivity, and Health

Sericulture is a vital agro-based industry that supports millions of farming families and provides a renewable source of natural silk. However, silkworm production and mulberry cultivation are increasingly challenged by insect pests, infectious diseases, environmental stress, pesticide exposure, soil degradation, and climate change. Insect-associated microorganisms influence host nutrition, development, immunity, stress tolerance, disease resistance, and silk production, while beneficial microbes associated with mulberry plants can improve plant health, nutrient availability, and soil fertility. Recent studies have shown that gut, hemolymph, reproductive, and plant-associated microbiomes can affect insect fitness and agricultural productivity, although the mechanisms governing these interactions remain incompletely understood. Important questions concern microbial community stability, host-microbe specificity, the effects of environmental and agricultural pressures, and the translation of laboratory findings into reliable field applications. Integrating microbiology, entomology, biotechnology, and sustainable agriculture may reduce dependence on chemical inputs and strengthen sericulture, but further investigation is needed to validate microbiome-based interventions across silkworm strains, mulberry systems, and production environments.


This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of insect-microbe interactions relevant to sericulture and to evaluate their applications in sustainable pest management, improved silkworm health, enhanced productivity, and environmental resilience. It will address how microbial communities influence silkworm physiology, nutrition, immunity, development, disease resistance, stress tolerance, and silk quality, as well as how mulberry-associated microorganisms contribute to plant growth and soil health. The Research Topic will also explore the development and application of probiotics, microbial biocontrol agents, microbiome engineering, pesticide-degrading microorganisms, and other microbiome-based technologies. Contributions may help determine how omics, computational, laboratory, greenhouse, and field approaches can be integrated to develop effective, safe, and scalable strategies for climate-smart sericulture.


To gather further insights into insect-microbe interactions in silkworm and mulberry production, this Research Topic will focus on studies with clear relevance to sustainable sericulture, while welcoming complementary research from insect microbiology, plant-microbe interactions, biotechnology, and agricultural ecology. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:


• Silkworm gut microbiota and microbial diversity;
• Microbial contributions to silkworm nutrition, development, and silk production;
• Insect immunity, disease resistance, and host-microbe signalling;
• Entomopathogenic microorganisms and microbial biocontrol agents;
• Probiotics, synbiotics, and beneficial microbial formulations for silkworm health;
• Mulberry-associated microorganisms and plant growth promotion;
• Soil microbiomes and nutrient cycling in mulberry cultivation;
• Microbial degradation of pesticides and remediation of contaminated production systems;
• Nanomicrobe interactions and delivery systems for agricultural applications;
• Metagenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and other omics approaches;
• Microbiome responses to heat, drought, pollution, and other climate-related stresses;
• Interactions among silkworms, microbes, mulberry plants, pathogens, and pests;
• Laboratory, greenhouse, field, and computational studies supporting sustainable sericulture;
• Biosafety, scalability, and practical deployment of microbiome-based technologies.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Sericulture; Insect–microbe interactions; Gut microbiota; Sustainable pest management; Microbial biocontrol; Probiotics; Insect immunity; Mulberry microbiome; Silk productivity.

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.