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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi
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Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 July 2022) | Viewed by 11592

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rosario Nicoletti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Center for Olive, Citrus and Fruit Crops, 81100 Caserta, Italy
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
Dr. Andrea Becchimanzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, University of Naples 'Federico II', Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
Interests: insect immunity; molecular entomology; parasitic interactions; pest control; entomopathogens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi and insects share common traits: they both possess chitin-based exteriors, and they both are heterotrophic. Fungi represent a feeding resource for mycophagous insects, while many fungi are entomopathogenic and exploit insects as a nutrient substrate. However, coevolution led to a continuum of relationships between these organisms which, far from being merely antagonistic, also involve mutualism. Indeed, after having been treated independently as pests for a long time, in the past few decades insects and fungi associated with crops have started being considered following the paradigm of the integrated pest management. Not only in view of combining control practices to contrast their noxious effects, but also and particularly in view of exploiting their symbiotic interactions in a way they can be beneficial to plants. Studies displaying how fungi can play a positive role by directly affecting insect pest development or inducing plant resistance and defense reactions have in turn stimulated the awareness that actually their interactions can go beyond these basic effects, and involve more strict developmental relationships which call for further insights. This Special Issue has been conceived to set up a collection of contributions examining the outcome of ecological and molecular interactions between insects and fungi, resulting from observations concerning agroecosystems and forest contexts, and from the analysis of the available literature referring to specific associations.

Dr. Rosario Nicoletti
Dr. Andrea Becchimanzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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.

Keywords

  • ecological associations
  • entomopathogens
  • gene induction and repression
  • insect hormones
  • mediator metabolites
  • mycophagy
  • plant growth promotion
  • resistance induction

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1729 KiB  
Article
Pea-Wheat Rotation Affects Soil Microbiota Diversity, Community Structure, and Soilborne Pathogens
by Sheridan Lois Woo, Francesca De Filippis, Maurizio Zotti, Albert Vandenberg, Pierre Hucl and Giuliano Bonanomi
Microorganisms 2022, 10(2), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020370 - 5 Feb 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2832
Abstract
Intensive cultivation based on monocultures has a significant impact on ecosystem function, and sustainable agriculture must rely on alternative methods, including crop rotation. On the Canadian prairies, the use of pulse crops is a common practice, but few studies have investigated the impact [...] Read more.
Intensive cultivation based on monocultures has a significant impact on ecosystem function, and sustainable agriculture must rely on alternative methods, including crop rotation. On the Canadian prairies, the use of pulse crops is a common practice, but few studies have investigated the impact on soil microorganisms. Here, we studied the effect of pea, wheat, pea–wheat rotation, and fallow in bulk soil bacterial and fungal communities. We characterized soil microbiota by high-throughput sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes for bacteria and eukaryotes. Different crop rotations and fallow significantly modified soil community composition, as well as bacterial and fungal diversity. Pea alone caused a strong reduction of bacterial and fungal richness and diversity compared to wheat, pea–wheat rotation, and fallow. Notably, pea–wheat rotation increased the abundance of Fusarium graminearum compared to other management practices. The bacterial community was less responsive to crop rotation identity compared to the fungal microbiota, and we found minor differences at the phylum level, with an increase in Actinobacteria in fallow and Firmicutes in wheat. In summary, our study demonstrated that rotations alter bulk soil microbial community diversity and composition in Canadian prairies. The frequent use of pea in rotation with wheat should be carefully evaluated, balancing their ecological effects on nitrogen mineralization, water conservation, and impact on beneficial, as well as pathotrophic, fungi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi)
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Review

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13 pages, 634 KiB  
Review
Talaromyces–Insect Relationships
by Rosario Nicoletti and Andrea Becchimanzi
Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010045 - 26 Dec 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4271
Abstract
Facing the urgent need to reduce the input of agrochemicals, in recent years, the ecological relationships between plants and their associated microorganisms have been increasingly considered as an essential tool for improving crop production. New findings and data have been accumulated showing that [...] Read more.
Facing the urgent need to reduce the input of agrochemicals, in recent years, the ecological relationships between plants and their associated microorganisms have been increasingly considered as an essential tool for improving crop production. New findings and data have been accumulated showing that the application of fungi can go beyond the specific role that has been traditionally assigned to the species, employed in integrated pest management as entomopathogens or mycoparasites, and that strains combining both aptitudes can be identified and possibly used as multipurpose biocontrol agents. Mainly considered for their antagonistic relationships with plant pathogenic fungi, species in the genus Talaromyces have been more and more widely reported as insect associates in investigations carried out in various agricultural and non-agricultural contexts. Out of a total of over 170 species currently accepted in this genus, so far, 27 have been found to have an association with insects from 9 orders, with an evident increasing trend. The nature of their mutualistic and antagonistic relationships with insects, and their ability to synthesize bioactive compounds possibly involved in the expression of the latter kind of interactions, are analyzed in this paper with reference to the ecological impact and applicative perspectives in crop protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi)
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Other

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6 pages, 239 KiB  
Perspective
Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi
by Rosario Nicoletti and Andrea Becchimanzi
Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010096 - 2 Jan 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3503
Abstract
Insects and fungi represent two of the most widespread groupings of organisms in nature, occurring in every kind of ecological context and impacting agriculture and other human activities in various ways. Moreover, they can be observed to reciprocally interact, establishing a wide range [...] Read more.
Insects and fungi represent two of the most widespread groupings of organisms in nature, occurring in every kind of ecological context and impacting agriculture and other human activities in various ways. Moreover, they can be observed to reciprocally interact, establishing a wide range of symbiotic relationships, from mutualism to antagonism. The outcome of these relationships can in turn affect the extent at which species of both organisms can exert their noxious effects, as well as the management practices which are to be adopted to counter them. In conjunction with the launch of a Special Issue of Microorganisms with the same title, this article offers a general overview of the manifold aspects related to such interactions from the perspective of implementing our capacity to regulate them in a direction more favorable for the environment, crop production and human health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi)
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