About this Research Topic

Background

There is a big concern in current agriculture regarding the future of worldwide crop production in a changing climate and its impact on insect pests and the transmitted diseases. Abiotic stress has been identified as one of the key factors threatening global food security. Throughout their growth and development, crops encounter several biotic and abiotic factors or stresses (i.e. drought, flooding, high temperatures, UV-radiation, etc.) extremely affecting plant growth and development leading to a reduction of the final production and yield. Moreover, abiotic stresses also play a high impact on biotic stresses. This influence is especially relevant for insect-transmitted plant pathogens (viruses and bacteria). Abiotic stresses, plants, insects and insect-vectored plant pathogens are all linked in a web of direct and indirect interactions.

The objective of this Research Topic is to compile novel works reporting the impact of abiotic stresses on insect pests (e.g. aphids, psyllids, sharpshooters and spittlebugs)and insect-transmitted plant pathogens (viruses and bacteria). We aim to highlight how insect pests will adapt and select host plants undergoing abiotic stresses linked to changing environmental conditions and predict how these adaptations could affect the insect-vectored pathogens and associated plant diseases.

Works focusing on main abiotic factors affecting insect pests and plant diseases (water stress, nutrients, UV radiation, temperature, carbon dioxide). The abiotic stress studied on the specific crop should be linked with its impact on an economically important insect pest or plant disease. Major Hemipteran insects and the transmitted viruses and bacteria are the main focus of this research topic. Works focusing on aphids (Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii), psyllids (Diaphorina citri), sharpshooters (Homalodisca vitripennis, Graphocephala atropunctata) and spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius) transmitting economically important viruses and bacteria are aimed. Here, several aspects can be targeted, such as insect feeding behavior, fitness, insect host-plant preference or adaptation under different conditions of abiotic stresses on their host plant. Moreover, studies going a step forward and exploring the impact of multitrophic interactions between abiotic stresses, insect pests and their influence on the transmission of insect-vectored plant pathogens (viruses, bacteria) will fulfill the scope of this Research Topic. However, novel and relevant works dealing with minor abiotic stresses, other insect species or transmitted pathogens will also be considered.

Keywords: Drought, climate change, UV radiation, temperature, carbon dioxide, plant viruses, plant bacteria., aphids, psyllids, spittlebugs, sharpshooters

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.

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