Abstract:  During the long-term evolution, plants and herbivorous insects have acquired diverse and complex mechanisms to adapt to each other. Plants have evolved a series of defense mechanisms against insects; meanwhile, herbivorous insects have evolved multiple strategies to adapt to plant defense for survival. Microorganisms are widely found in plants and insects as well as in environments. Increasing evidence proves that microorganisms can participate in the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects, which impacts the environmental adaptability of plants and herbivorous insects. Rice is an important food crop. In this article, we outlined the research progress on rice-pest interactions and common microorganisms in agroecosystems such as insect symbiotic bacteria, soil microorganisms and pathogenic microorganisms that affect rice growth and development, reproduction of pest populations, and alteration of rice defense responses to pests. It has great significance for the further understanding of the interactions between plants and pests. Finally, we presented an outlook on the future research directions of the use of microorganisms to control rice pests: (1) Strengthening research and development of insecticidal microbial agents; and (2) application of endosymbiotic bacteria for pest control and prevention.

Key words: Herbivorous insects, rice, pests, microorganism, coevolution, Nilaparvata lugens