Microbiomes of Forest Pests and Their Hosts
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 1968
Special Issue Editors
Interests: numerical ecology; microorganisms as players in insect-plant interactions
Interests: taxonomy and ecology of bryophytes; phytogeography of epiphytic bryophytes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Forest pests cause massive economic and ecological losses worldwide. Their ecological control may lay in understanding their microbiomes. Insect pests’ microbiomes may provide the host with cellulolytic and ligninolytic enzymes or essential nutrients. They can detoxify phytochemicals and pesticides, or interact with the regulation of plant signaling pathways. Moreover, trees also harbor a large diversity of microbes, acting as entomopathogens, boosters of tree defenses, and inductors of plant chemical defenses. Tri-trophic interactions between trees, insect pests, and their microbes may be further complicated by soil microbiomes, which affect plants’ fitness and thus aboveground pests. Knowledge and the manipulation of these multiple interactions may be crucial for the improved pest tolerance of forest ecosystems and could be integrated into pest control strategies. The importance of these interactions is growing with climate change, as microbiome populations increase and evolve faster in stressful conditions. However, the mediation of multitrophic interactions for forest systems is still in its infancy in comparison to agricultural systems. We thus encourage studies from all fields, including experimental and monitoring approaches, to contribute to this Special Issue in order to promote knowledge of the role of insect–plant–microbiome interactions in sustainable insect pest management practices.
Dr. Petr Pyszko
Dr. Vítězslav Plášek
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- microbiomes
- plant signaling pathways
- plant chemical defense
- bark beetles
- herbivorous insects
- pest control
- multi-trophic interactions
- climate change
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